I'm Not What I Seem To Be
by Flo-Frou
Summary: Everyone always judges Ino Yamanaka. But what if she isn't as she seems to be? What if her confidence and flirtatious ways is just a cover up? What if she's secretly just hurt and sad inside...?InoXSasuke[UPDATED: The final chapter is up! Enjoy!]
1. Prologue

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y- Hey everyone. So I decided to write a new fiction for Naruto. The pairing will be Sasuke Uchiha** with **Ino Yamanaka. I know there aren't many fans of them two, but _**please**_ just read it first and acknowledge it. It doesn't hurt to at least see a different pairing, and maybe you will like it too. I will update each chapter **if** and only **IF** I get at least **4** or more reviews for each chapter, so I know whether I'm wasting my time or whatsoever. So I will update if I get at least 4 reviews for each chapter. Please no flames; if you don't like what you read, then just don't review at all please. This story has nothing to do with the original plot of Naruto by the way, just warning you beforehand.

Here's the story: Everyone always looks down on Ino Yamanaka. Everyone thinks that she's automatically a slut just because she tends to flirt with Sasuke. People think she's way over-confident, or conceded. But what if that was only just pretend? Not everyone is what they seem…

Warnings: mild abuse, mild cursing, romance, action-adventure, a bit OOC

I do not own Naruto, or else I'd be at the BET awards drinking cocktails and buying me a whole bunch of mansions. Actually, if I owned Naruto, I would OWN BET! HAHAHAHA! Okay…excuse me…okay I don't own Naruto.

_**Prologue**_

_Why is it that people judge me so much?_

_Why is it that I lost my friend just because of a boy…was I so selfish? Was she so selfish…?_

_Women are always saying that men aren't worth it…So why is it that I was so caught up in this delusional love…?_

_Was it delusional…?_

_Was it worth it…was it worth losing your friend…?_

_No, it wasn't. I wish I hadn't lost my friend, Sakura Haruno._

_Now, she is acknowledged for her new-found strength._

_And I am acknowledged for nothing._

_My tough, confident exterior._

_Is nothing but a mask. A mask to hide the sadness in me._

_A mask to hide the darkness in my heart._

_A mask to hide the real me…A lost, sad puppy._

_A pathetic person in this world, a pathetic nobody whom everyone thinks is a whore._

_But I am no whore._

_I am just…lost…secretly broken…I'm just…_

_A Nobody._


	2. Chapter 1: They Don't See

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y- Hey everyone. I had decided to first update the first chapter. I didn't just want to leave the prologue. So anyways, I will update if I get 4 or more reviews for this chapter. Hope you like and thank you for taking the time out to read. Please **no** flames, thank you!

I do not own Naruto or its characters or anything that has to do with well…Naruto!

_**Chapter 1: They Don't See…**_

Soft blue eyes stared at the limitless fortress above, the sky. It was a nice shade of blue, a few shades lighter than her eyes. It only had few clouds which were rich with brightness. The sun casted a heavenly glow to the village of Konoha.

15-year old Ino Yamanaka sat upon a grassy, hill, still wearing the yellow apron from working in her family's flower shop. Her wrist bands were still pulled up on her arms acting as armlets. Her long, pale blonde hair tied up into a bun with the occasional long loose strand of hair that framed her face nicely. Yes, the flower shop had closed. It was Sunday, so the flower shop had closed at 6 PM. It was a little after six now, and instead of returning home, Ino watched the sunset. Ino loved to watch the sunset; it made her feel more comfortable, and gave her something to look forward to. It also gave her time to think. To just think about her life and her feelings; just time to let her get in touch with her emotions.

Tears gathered near the corners of her eyes. She needn't bother to force them within herself. She let them fall, cascading down her gentle face. She was alone, it was safe to cry. She sighed, no; today wasn't a good day to her. In fact, it's never a good day with her. It seemed like everyone was against her. People judge her so much. At times, she felt like killing herself. A group of girls had called her a whore who throws herself at random guys. They said she was a blonde, and proved the stereotype. Guys had automatically assumed she was a whore, a slut, a pathetic young woman.

But who was to blame but herself? She was the one who continuously flirted with Sasuke, or as people say, throw herself at him. She was the one who started this mess, she thought. She blamed herself entirely. In fact, she regretted ever flirting with him as she had done. But at times she had to wonder, why? Why did people choose to call her a whore when every other girl would actually chase him? Why would people choose to call her a whore when other girls go googly-eyed for him? Why her out of all people? But she had given up trying to understand the way people act. She got up, and started to walk home, her father would be angry if she is very late. If her father is angry….well…she shouldn't take him lightly.

She began to take the usually route home. She hoped that she wouldn't have to face another group of girls and boys calling her names. Her blue eyes planted on her feet, it was as if she practically memorized the way she had to walk. She then heard voices, her curious blue eyes glancing in front of her. There, walking together, were Sasuke Uchiha, the raven-haired avenger, Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage with a very strong will, and Sakura Haruno, her ex-friend. They were conversing among themselves. Her eyes widened. She had to put up her act. Her teammates Chouji and Shikamaru are saying that she looks a bit depressed and that her fighting in training has slacked; they were getting suspicious about her. She didn't want anyone to know she was secretly depressed, so she just smiled and shook it off, saying it was nothing. They might have discussed her actions to other people, so she had to put up her act to make sure no one got suspicious.

'_I have to put up my usual act! Come on Ino, stop being sad right now and just do this!_' She had thought.

She then conjured up her usual I'm perfect smirk, and she then twirled the loose strand of blonde hair between her fingers.

"Hey Sasuke-Kun," Ino said, smiling.

"Hn…" Sasuke groaned and narrowed his eyes.

The usual routine.

"Hey Forehead Girl, you better not be making any moves on MY Sasuke-kun, or you're toast!"

Sakura glared, her sea foam green eyes staring at her. "Your Sasuke-Kun! Get real Ino-Pig!"

Ino glared and 'hmph'd before walking off, hearing Sasuke's agitated groan and Naruto's mumbling words of jealousy.

As soon as she made sure that she was safe, her face softened, and a flood of tears cascaded down her face. Sobs racked her body as she ran home. Her hiccupping, she tried to withhold, but a few hiccups managed to escape her lips. She finally made it to her home and she breathed heavily, wiping her eyes before going inside her abode.

She entered the house and slipped off her shoes before going into the living room. Her father was reading a book. He took off his glasses and stared at her.

"Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry father; we had a last-minute customer."

His face softened. "Please don't let it happen again. You worried me sick."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Dinner is in the kitchen, help yourself. You might have to heat it up."

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry. I think I'll take a bath, and then go to bed."

Her father looked at her. "If it is what you desire, so be it."

Ino walked up the stairs and quickly went into the bathroom. She walked inside and prepared the bath. She then stripped and got inside. She settled in, and stared at the pinkish bubbles.

'_I'm such a coward…I ran away…I ran…how long I have to run…?'_ Tears gathered once again. _'I hate this…I hate this…'_

Sobs once again racked her body and she buried her face with her hands...

* * *

The next early morning Ino met her teammates Chouji and Shikamaru at their usual training spot. They had begun training, working on their aim at stationary objects. Ino threw her kunai at the stationary object, not quite at the red circle where they aimed to throw it, but close.

A couple of kunoichi had passed by them.

"Look its Ino Yamanaka, that blonde dumbo." One of them mumbled, but loud enough for Ino to hear.

"Yeah. I'm actually surprised that she's not looking for Sasuke. I thought he was her world." One of them mumbled back.

Ino's blue eyes narrowed, and she roughly retrieved her kunai from the stationary object, and began throwing the kunai angrily.

Shikamaru watched, his eyes widened as every single kunai pierced the stationary object exactly in the red circle in the middle. He watched as Ino breathed heavily.

"Damn…" He said as he watched her retrieve the weapons.

Chouji, standing and eating a bag of potato chips, nodded. "Looks like she's one tough cookie today." He said while still eating.

Shikamaru continued to watch as Ino continuously threw her weapons at the object perfectly.

"Whoa...you okay?"

"I'm fine." Ino snapped.

After a few hours of training, Shikamaru and Chouji started walking.

"Hey Ino, we're done for the day. Aren't you tired?"

"No."

"So troublesome…give it a rest, you'll pass out."

"I'm fine." Ino said, looking at them, breathing heavily.

"Well okay then. See ya tomorrow."

Shikamaru glanced at Chouji. "Something's up. I haven't seen her **this** angry."

Chouji nodded. "Me either, she's been acting so strange."

Shikamaru thought, and then shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's THAT time of the month or suttin."

Chouji started to chuckle, as they walked away, but secretly Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.

'_What's going on with you…Ino…?'_ He thought.

* * *

_**Later….**_

It was a bit after 12 pm.

Ino bent a bit out of exhaustion, her face flushed. She was sweating profusely, and it hurt to breathe, so she had to take small breaths.

'_My shift at the Flower Shop isn't until 1…I have one hour left…I cannot…waste it. I have to prove myself…for everyone…' _She thought.

She limply got up, and began to punch and kick rapidly at the piece of wooden board hanging from a tree branch. Not long after that, her punches and kicks slowed down until she couldn't stand. She fell on her knees, her hands gripping the grass.

'_Stand up Ino…stand.'_ She commanded herself.

But no matter how much she tried, she had no strength to stand up. Tears fell down her face.

'_Please…stand up…stand…'_

And then, the world went black, total darkness surrounding her vision…

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha walked randomly. He had no specific destination, but he just decided to walk around. Team 7 had finished training a while ago, and he didn't feel like hanging around Sakura nor Naruto. His onyx eyes stared at the path ahead, and the gentle breeze blew his raven hair. He than glanced upon a tree-filled vacant full of grass. He had thought he saw something on the ground.

'_Probably a dead rabbit or something…'_Sasuke thought.

But then the form looked longer than a rabbit.

'_Why should I care? I should be making a plan on how I will avenge my clan…'_He thought.

Soon, curiosity overtook him and he began to walk over to it. As he got closer, he observed the pale blonde hair, the familiar outfit. It was Ino Yamanaka. He saw a kunai, clutched into her slender hand. He gazed upon her form, and he bent down. He looked at her face; she looked exhausted. He figured that she must have trained herself to death.

'_Should I leave her here….?'_ Sasuke contemplated on what he should do.

He sighed, and then gathered her in his arms; he hauled her up and adjusted her so he held her bridal-style. Her arm hung limply, the kunai slipping out of her grip. Sasuke began to walk. She wasn't even the least bit heavy, she was light. He glanced at her face and saw heard her mumble, a tear escaping her closed eyes.

'_A tear…? Is she…crying in her sleep…?'_ He pondered this before lifting a pale hand to her face, and gently wiping the lone tear. _'Never mind. It's not my place to know…'_He concluded….

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y. - Hoped you liked! Please read and review and you will surely see more chapters! I will update once I get at least 4 reviews for this chapter or more. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 2: Something Doesn't Feel Right

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y- Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews, I didn't expect so much, guess I should be more positive. Anyway, I'm glad I'm keeping Sasuke in character; it's simpler than writing Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho since Hiei doesn't talk much.

And yeah it is wrong that people call Ino a whore, yet Sakura isn't any better than her. I have nothing against Sakura; it's just that it's not fair to Ino…Sakura flirts with Sasuke too….

I received more than 4 reviews for the previous chapter, so now here is the next chapter. Please read and review thank you! And once again, I will require 4 or more reviews for me to update, and no flames. Thanks. Peace.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, because if I did I'd be in a mansion drinking cocktails and having random hot guys sing Christmas songs to me 24/7. YAY! Too bad I don't…

**_Chapter 2: Something Doesn't Feel Right…_**

Ino Yamanaka sat in her flower shop, preparing a delivery order for a bouquet of roses. Her blue eyes concentrated on her task, but her mind was elsewhere.

She had found out that she had passed out the previous day from over-working herself. She awoke in her house in her room, and her father checked up on her. He had told her that someone found her passed out in her training area. He had said a boy had brought her, and that he had dark-hair, dark eyes. At first Ino had thought it could have been Sasuke, but then she came to realization.

'_Why would he help an idiot like me…?' _She had thought.

She had scolded herself for missing her shift at the Flower Shop, but her father told her not to worry about it and was glad that she was safe.

Ino sighed and finished the flower order, finishing it with a decoration of a nice red ribbon. She told one of the employees to keep watch of the shop, and she went outside. She took out a blue bike from the back of the Flower Shop, and drove off. Her blue eyes looked up at the sky; it was once again sunny. Too bad she didn't feel as happy as she should. She closed her eyes; the feel of the wind hitting her face felt good to her. She picked up the momentum; she felt as if she were the wind, she felt free. Free to roam wherever she wanted. Free to travel without people saying things behind her back. That's why she loved making deliveries. She then stopped upon her destination. She got off the bike, and walked to the house. She rang the doorbell, and patiently waited. The door then cracked open. Ino gulped.

"Is anyone there?" She asked.

"Come in…" She heard a voice reply.

Ino walked inside. It was dark, but it was pretty. The windows were draped with long lavender curtains, and the room she entered was quite spacious. The walls were a light shade of purple, and the floor was white and shiny. Ino glanced at a woman sitting in one of the many couches. She had a gentle face with wrinkles, but the smile planted on her lips made her look so much younger. She had dark skin, a caramel complexion, and gray hair.

"Over here young miss." The Lady said her voice slightly raspy.

Ino nodded and walked over to her.

"Here are your roses ma'ams." Ino said, and reached it out to her. Her blue eyes held no expression, she just wanted to deliver this and go.

"You're such a pretty young lady, why do you look so troubled?" The lady asked her.

Ino looked at the floor. "There is…no trouble ma'am."

The lady glanced at her and smiled. "Come, sit."

"But ma'am, I have to get back to the Flower Shop…my shift-"

"It'll only be for a few minutes and then you can do what you wish."

Ino sighed in defeat, and sat on the couch. It was extremely comfortable, quite bouncy. Ino knew she couldn't stay long or she'd fall asleep on this couch as if it were hers. The old woman smiled.

"I've never met anyone like you before," The woman began. "I have never seen a child's eyes quite like yours. Children are supposed to be having fun at this age, with no care in the world. Children your age should be having the time of their lives."

"But I have never seen a child who looked so sad. I suppose not everything can be perfect…life can be such a handful at times …But you will survive it."

Ino looked away.

"There will be someone in your life that will cherish and love you. That someone may be someone you would least expect. Just keep that in mind…okay?" The woman patted Ino's hand gently.

Ino stared at the old woman, and then nodded, mustering up a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind…"

"Good. Feel free to visit me anytime."

Ino nodded and headed out the door, waving, before hauling herself on the bike and driving away. As Ino drove on the path back to the Flower Shop, she remembered the woman's words.

'_Could she be right…I don't know…But it really gives me something to look forward to…'_ Ino thought.

* * *

After her shift, Ino wiped her forehead. It was her lunch, so she decided to go to the local ramen stand. Her stomach growled.

"I'm starving…" She murmured.

She walked to the ramen stand, still clad in her usual attire with her yellow apron still on; her hair was still tied up in a bun. She sat in one of the seats.

"May I have an order of beef ramen please?" She asked.

"Ya got it."

She unconsciously played with the loose strand of hair that framed her face as she waited.

"SAKURA-CHAN! I'M HUNGRY, WE MUST EAT!"

"Alright Naruto, don't have a heart-attack. While we're here we might as well, I am hungry."

"Hn…Naruto, you're so annoying."

Ino could feel her heart racing.

'_Damn…I forgot that this is Naruto's favorite ramen stand.'_ Ino cursed herself mentally.

She heard them take their seats. They were sitting two chairs away from her.

"Here's your order of beef ramen ma'am."

Ino nodded in gratitude and began to eat her noodles. Her eyes were starting to hurt. She just couldn't bring herself to look at the honorable Team 7. Her eyes were trying to betray her, so she had to strain to keep herself from looking to the left. She felt like crying; she wished that people could talk to her like they talk to Sakura. She deeply wished that Sasuke would talk to her like he talks to Sakura. He even protected her quite a few times during missions. Ino had felt jealousy rising up. She felt stupid, stupid for thinking for a second that she and Sasuke would be.

Ino then became aware that someone was staring at her. She quickly glanced to the left, and saw Naruto and Sakura talking, and then glancing at Ino with curious faces. Then they began talking again.

Suddenly the world wasn't there anymore. The only people there were Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and herself.

'_They're talking about me…they're talking about me…'_ Ino felt her eyes starting to burn. _'No, I will not cry. I will not let them see me so vulnerable. I will not degrade myself further…'_ Her mind was going crazy. She then started to eat faster. She had to hurry and leave, she was starting to go crazy….

* * *

**Sasuke's POV Point Of View**

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura had decided to go to the ramen bar to eat. Naruto wouldn't stop nagging until they finally went.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and sighed.

"Hn…Naruto, you're so annoying." Sasuke said.

"Whatever Sasuke-teme!" Naruto jumped on a seat and slapped his hand on the table. "HEY WAITER LETS GO I'M STARVING!"

Sasuke sighed. _'Why do I have to be in a team with an idiot?'_

He sat down in one of the seats and leaned his chin on his hands, as he usually does. Sakura and Naruto ordered.

"Sasuke-kun, would you like anything?" Sakura had asked him, her sea-foam green eyes seemed to be gleaming in happiness.

"No." He said plainly and simply.

He continued to sit there, waiting for his teammates to hurry up and eat. His onyx eyes then glanced at the right. There, sitting two seats away was Ino Yamanaka, still clad in her yellow apron. He guessed it must have been her lunch break. He then remembered how he had found her yesterday; passed out and exhausted. He had still wondered why she had trained until she dropped, but he didn't put that much thought to it. This avenger had his own problems to deal with, not other people's problems. Then, he noticed her blue eyes glance in their direction, and then quickly go back to looking at her food. He then noticed that she began to eat quicker. She looked like she was in a hurry; almost like she was nervous or scared.

'_Something is up with that girl…'_Sasuke had thought. He then shrugged. _'It has nothing to do with me…'_

* * *

**Regular POV Point Of View**

Ino had finally finished the last bits of ramen.

'_Okay Ino. They're talking about you, they're talking about you. They're noticing how weird you're acting... Time to get up that act…'_her conscious demanded of her.

Ino then walked over to Team 7 nonchalantly. She saw Sakura look at her, and then Ino poked Sakura's forehead.

"Hey Forehead girl, I didn't know you'd be here too. How unlucky for me…" Ino mustered up her usual smirk.

"Hey Ino-Pig, ya think I wanted you here! Ya just had to be here didn't ya!"

"Who else would remind you that Sasuke-Kun is off limits?" Ino grinned. "Anyways, I got better things to do with my life, so see ya forehead girl."

"GOOD! LEAVE INO-PIG!" Sakura stuck her tongue out and frowned.

Ino walked off, soon tears cascading down her face again.

'_Awesome Ino. Now no one will get suspicious and call you a pathetic loser for being depressed. The act you're putting up is fooling everyone. Good job.'_ Her conscious told her.

She picked up the pace, feeling like she would burst out sobbing at any minute….

--------------------------------------

Sasuke stared at her departing form. His eyes narrowed. She is acting out of the ordinary. First, he catches her looking in their direction, and then he catches her rushing to eat as if she's scared or nervous, and then she approaches them with her old fashion attitude? That's just not right to him for some reason. And as he stared at her departing form, he had thought that he saw her tremble. He couldn't help but be curious at the strange number of events happening….

--------------------------------------

Ino returned to the Flower Shop and walked inside.

"Hey Ino, your father has decided that you should be off duty for today. He's worried about you." One of the female employees said.

"But, I can handle-"

"He insists. He wants you home to rest"

Ino stood there for a second, staring at the floor, before slowly nodding. She walked out of the shop, walking slowly and looking at the ground. She shook her hair out of its tight bun, making her light blonde hair fall into its usual ponytail. She sighed, and continued walking. As she walked, she saw a group of girls and boys talking.

Ino fastened her pace; she just wanted to get past them.

"Look, it's that whore."

"Yeah. Look at her in that little apron. She actually looks more like a person than a slut."

"Yeah. She's always trying hit on Sasuke-kun. When will she realize that she hasn't got a chance?"

"Exactly, she's so dumb. Even Sakura-chan, who never fought, can actually fight. She got stronger and stuff, I don't see Ino doing the same. Even Sasuke can tolerate Sakura."

Ino's pace quickened until she was running. Tears fell down her pale face, as she ran to an unknown destination. She didn't care where she was going; she just had to get away from them. As long she was away from people, she was fine. She ran into an abandoned alleyway, and fell down on the ground. Her hands fisted on the ground, as she bent her head down and sobbed. Tears fell down her flushed face, and hit the ground, making wet marks.

'_W-why must this continue…? I should just…disappear like everyone wants me to…Anywhere away from here will be my haven…'_ She thought as she sobbed. She let the hiccups come, and let her loud whimpers escape her lips. She was safe and alone, there was no need to hide her tears now….

* * *

"What morons." Sasuke thought as he walked home. After their stop at the ramen bar, they had just walked around talking to others and being just plain silly. Seriously, they were getting on his nerves. But they were his team. He closed his eyes and smirked. He continued on his usual route to his house. As he passed by the alleyway, he thought he saw something or someone. He walked backwards, and stared at the form ahead. 

It was, Ino. She was sobbing uncontrollably. His eyes softened.

'_What the hell is going on…?'_ He was as confused as hell. Either this girl had major mood swings and different personalities, or something was wrong with her.

Suddenly, he knew she was about to turn around, so he used his swiftness to jump onto a nearby tree.

-------------------------------

Ino turned around. She had thought someone was there. She shook her head.

'_It was probably a bird or something…Great, now I'm hallucinating…what's wrong with me…!'_ Sobs racked her body as she buried her head in her hands; her whimpering only seemed to get louder. But no one would hear, because no one was there. And no one ever walks by here anyway. At least, that's what she thought…

The young avenger stood on a tree branch, the wind blowing his raven-hair gently. His dark eyes locked on to the alleyway. And in his eyes was the image of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kunoichi, crying and whimpering with her flushed face in her hands……….

**FIN**

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y. - Hey everyone! Hoped you liked that chapter. I still tried to make Sasuke in Character, but with a bit more emotion. I mean, once you care about someone there's bound to be some kind of change in yourself, right? I'm trying to make his emotions come out fluently, so please bear with me.

About the old woman, I decided to include some foreshadowing, because I love foreshadowing!

As usual, I will update once I get 4 or more reviews for this chapter. Thank you for reading, and **no flaming**. If you have nothing good to say, then please just don't say anything. Thanks and bye!


	4. Chapter 3: 'Don't Give Me That'

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y. - Hey everyone! Thanks for reading my story! I appreciate it dearly! Here's the next chapter, hope you like it! This chapter will of course have some drama... And thank you guys so much for the nice reviews. I know how it feels to be made fun of, because people always made fun of me. So it's easy to write from my experience….And I know many others can relate to Ino…

Of course the usual 'I need 4 reviews or more to update' applies to this chapter, and no flames, and yada yada yada, let's just get on with the fic!

I don't own Naruto. Simply put.

Chapter revised

**_Chapter 3: 'Don't Give Me That!' The Chase!_**

Sasuke Uchiha awoke from his slumber. He groaned and rubbed his eyes as he got up and freshened up. As he brushed his teeth, he recalls the sight he saw yesterday. His eyes soften at the thought of his former blonde classmate that was now in a separate team with Chouji and Shikamaru….

Flashback to Yesterday….

"_What morons." Sasuke thought as he walked home. After their stop at the ramen bar, they had just walked around talking to others and being just plain silly. Seriously, they were getting on his nerves. But they were his team. He closed his eyes and smirked. He continued on his usual route to his house. As he passed by the alleyway, he thought he saw something or someone. He walked backwards, and stared at the form ahead._

_It was, Ino. She was sobbing uncontrollably. His eyes softened._

'_What the hell is going on…?' He was as confused as hell. Either this girl had major mood swings and different personalities, or something was wrong with her._

_Suddenly, he knew she was about to turn around, so he used his swiftness to jump onto a nearby tree._

_The young avenger stood on a tree branch, the wind blowing his raven-hair gently. His dark eyes locked on to the alleyway. And in his eyes was the image of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kunoichi, crying and whimpering with her flushed face in her hands………._

End of Flashback

He said to himself over and over that he was an avenger. He had to concentrate on his training, and his plans for avenging his clan. He had to become strong for the sake of defeating his older brother Itachi. He had his own problems, he had repeated to himself over and over. But after what he witnessed yesterday, his curiosity had become the better of him. Today, he planned to approach Ino and find out what's wrong with her. It kept replaying into his head; it was itching at him to find out.

Of course, he didn't care about her.

Ino was acting very strangely than how she acted during the academy days. And he was curious about her strange mood swings.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka sat in her flower shop, resting her chin of her hand. For some reason, not a lot of customers were coming today. She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair which cascaded down her back, and reached to a few inches below her hips, almost near her knees. She had decided to wear it loose today; it was something that **actually** made **her** feel better about herself.

It was her lunch break, so she stood up, and sat outside of the flower shop. She gazed at the sky; it was cloudy, and the sky was a depressing shade of gray. It looked as if the world were going through some kind of depression, at least, that's what she thought. Suddenly, flashes of her crying yesterday entered her mind. Her blue eyes stared at the ground below her. She was so tired of crying, she was tired of pretending. She was tired of living a lie….

The wind blew her long hair gently as she stood up. She walked to the park and sat on one of the many benches. She then started to eat some rice balls she had picked up on the way. She began to eat the rice balls, enjoying her lunch. Then she heard someone approaching. Her blue eyes opened, and after a moment, widened.

'_Sasuke! Why did he have to be here at all times! My heart is racing…my mind is going out of control…what should I do!'_

'_Simple.'_ She heard her conscious. _'Act normal. Then maybe he'll get annoyed with you as usual and just walk away…'_

Ino nodded to herself, she would act as she normally did, and Sasuke would get annoyed with her as he usual did, and he'd walk away.

"Yamanaka…"

-

* * *

**Sasuke's Point of View….**

**--------------------------------------------**

As I began my usual morning walk, I glanced upon Ino Yamanaka. Just who I wanted to see….Now, I plan to ask her about her mood swings, and her little crying session in the alleyway yesterday. I see her eyes closed, eating a rice cake. I watched her chew from where I walk. I see her blue eyes open and glance at me. She looked like she was about to panic for a second, before her face looked relaxed once again. I stepped in front of her.

"Yamanaka…" I say.

She looks at me, her usual smirk appearing on her lips.

"Sasuke-kun!" She stands up, and puts her hands together. "Finally realized that I am the one for you!"

I narrow my eyes and shake my head. "Ino, we need to talk."

She looks at me; I thought I saw her tremble. "What's been going on with you…?"

-------------------------------

**Regular Point of View**

**------------------------------**

'_Does he know! No…he couldn't…'_Ino panicked, but then convinced herself. _'He couldn't possibly know…'_

"Huh?"

"What's been going on with you? First, I find you passed out at your training area, next, when Sakura, Naruto, and I came, you looked nervous or something and began to eat faster. Then, you glanced at us, and then quickly acted like you didn't. And then you approach us as if nothing happened…Chouji and Shikamaru were talking about you as well. They were saying that they even noticed you were acting weird."

"Sasuke-kun, I-"

"And I saw you yesterday…"

'_SAW ME! HE MUST BE TALKING ABOUT SEEING ME SOMEWHERE WALKING AROUND! OH PLEASE, don't let it be…'_Ino felt her eyes starting to burn.

"I saw you…in that alleyway. You were crying…why?"

'_Oh no! He saw me crying! I thought I had sensed something…'_

Ino thought back on yesterday…

_**Flashback to Yesterday…..**_

_**------------------------------------**_

_Ino turned around. She had thought someone was there. She shook her head._

'**_It was probably a bird or something…Great, now I'm hallucinating…what's wrong with me…!_' **_Sobs racked her body as she buried her head in her hands; her whimpering only seemed to get louder. But no one would hear, because no one was there. And no one ever walks by here anyway. At least, that's what she thought…_

_**End of Flashback…**_

_**----------------------------------**_

'_I can't believe this…stupid Ino! Stupid stupid INO! YOU'RE SO STUPID! NOW HE WILL MAKE FUN OF YOU, HE'LL TELL YOU THAT YOU'RE WEAK, HE'S GOING TO TELL EVERYONE! HE'S GOING TO MAKE FUN OF YOU! COME ON INO! TRY AND PROVE HIM WRONG!'_ Ino's conscious screamed at her.

"Sasuke-Kun, you must be mistaken!" Ino said happily. Her eyes were starting to burn even more, and it was getting harder to keep that confident smile on her face.

"Don't give me that!" He said. Ino eyes widened as she heard him say those words. "Don't give me that bullshit."

'_Good job Ino…you idiot! He knows now! There's nothing you can do! EVERYTHING THAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU IS TRUE! YOU ARE A BLONDE BIMBO WHO CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT! YOU ARE STUPID, RETARDED, SPECIAL ED, YOU'RE JUST A WASTE OF MATTER!' _Her conscious told her.

Ino's blue eyes averted their attention to the floor, the smile disappearing. "I don't know what you're talking about…you must have the wrong girl in mind. I was never in an alleyway crying….I never looked at Sakura, Naruto, or you at the ramen bar in a weird way. I wasn't eating fast either…" She had just lied. She had just lied to Sasuke Uchiha of the honorable Uchiha Clan. She didn't think it would come to this…but it did. He watched as her hands clutched onto the yellow apron she wore tightly.

"Look at me." She heard him command.

'_Don't do it! If you do, he will read your emotions and find out its true! Don't face him Ino, don't you stupid idiot!"_

"Look at me." He repeated himself. Her eyes looked at him, but not directly into his eyes.

"Don't lie to me Yamanaka…I am not one to lie to…" He said. His voice seemed to grow colder, almost as if he was angry, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Ino felt the tears coming. Her blue eyes looked everywhere, anywhere as long as she didn't eye contact with the handsome Uchiha in front her. Her mind was going crazy; her eyes were burning so much.

'_No…not the tears again…not again…please don't…'_

But she failed. The tears ran freely down her face, she couldn't even turn away from him; he still had a strong grip on her chin. She was ashamed that he had to witness her crying, and directly in front of him.

"See you're doing it again." He said.

'_INO! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU!'_ She thought.

"I-I, have to get back to t-the flower s-shop." Ino darted off, dropping her rice ball on the floor.

Ino ran away from the park, tears freely escaping her eyes. She looked back, and saw Sasuke running after her.

'_Great…running away from him is going to be the death of me…I know that I made a terrible mistake by running…come on Ino! Try and outrun him, Don't let him make you tell him you're depressed, he'll make fun of you!'_ She thought to herself.

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y. - HAHA! Whaddaya think! Read and review please! No flames! Thanks, bye.


	5. Chapter 4: Away

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y. – Hey! Man, I didn't expect so many reviews! You made me such a **happy** Black/Indian girl! Hehe!

This chapter was revised

So now, here goes chapter 4! ENJOY! Please read and review, and no flames! Thank you!

As usual I do not own Naruto, cuz if I did; I wouldn't be sitting here writing this, I would actually make it come true! Sasuke and Ino 4ever! So yeah, I don't own, so whatever.

**_Chapter 4: Away….._**

Ino continued to run farther away from the park. She had decided to not even look back, because she knew that Sasuke wasn't too far behind her, and that if she looked back she'd probably slow down. She picked up the momentum, and dodged random people on her route to escape. She never ran so fast in her life; her chest was hurting, she could hardly breathe now, and her legs were beginning to feel really numb right about now. But she ignored it; she rather let her legs feel like jell-O then let Sasuke make her tell him what was wrong with her. Suddenly, she felt a drop of water land on her forehead. Then, it started pouring down raining.

'_Great Ino! Now it's pouring raining, you're soaked to death, AND someone is chasing you! You stupid wench!'_ her conscious screamed.

But she didn't care if it was raining heavily; she just had to do something. After what seemed like forever but in reality were a few moments, she had decided to look back; Sasuke should have caught up to her already. As she ran, she looked back and noticed a group of girls surrounding something. Sometimes fan girls can come in handy….

--------------------------------------------------

**Sasuke's Point of View…**

**--------------------------------------------------**

Damn it! I was right on her tail. I noticed that she was slowing down; I was catching up, and I knew that I would catch up to her at any moment. But then, as I was running, unfortunately, some girls had seen me. They squealed, and hovered all over me. I was forced to stop running. I shoved and pushed and told them to get out of my way, in my normal cold voice. But there was too many of them.

"Get out of my way!" I yelled my voice as angry as possible. Yes, I was annoyed.

I guess I scared them, because they finally started to move away from me. Okay, more like, run. But anyway, when I looked, she was long gone.

But then I stopped and started to think,

'_Why am I running after a girl? I'm not even that remotely concerned about her. I don't care,'_ I tried to convince myself. But then flashbacks of when I saw her in the alleyway made its way to my conscious, and suddenly, I began to feel really bad. _'But, that's the first time i've seen HER out all people cry.'_I thought.

I stared at the direction she ran off in, still wondering about Ino's strange behavior, but then I turned and went off, I had to find Sakura and Naruto in the training area anyway. But I still thought about what I saw in the alleyway...A very strange event.**

* * *

**

**Regular Point of View**

Ino actually didn't run back to the flower shop. Instead, she ran to a certain section of the forest. She usually went there to cry to herself, and to think. But usually, it did no good. Because whenever she cried, she always knew and felt that she was holding something back. It was a place no one knew about, at least, that's what she thought. Even if people did notice it, they usually ignored it. It was still raining, and Ino was heavily soaked. Her clothes clung to her body she thanked God that she had an apron over her clothes, and her hair was extremely damp, and gotten extremely curly; it got curly when it was wet. She was utterly cold, and her exposed arms had goose bumps all over them, she cursed herself mentally for wearing a ninja outfit with no sleeves.

When she had got to this spot after escaping Sasuke, she fell on her knees tears escaping her eyes, but she wouldn't let herself release anything more. She had to be strong; she was tired of people calling her a weak whore. Now, they weren't **only** tears of sadness, but were tears of anguish as well. She was ashamed of herself for making herself vulnerable. She was ashamed that someone had seen her sob her heart out, she planned to never make the same mistake. She was ashamed that **Sasuke Uchiha** had seen her sob her heart out.

'_Ino, no wonder why people make fun of you. No wonder why your former best friend hates your guts. No wonder why you attract negative attention; because you are a complete dunce.'_

'_I'm not!'_ She tried to fight her negative side.

Ino eyes opened fully, tears still streaming down her face in mix with the rain drops, thinking ofeverything she did.

* * *

Ino entered the flower shop, and one of the employees looked at her.

"Oh Ino! You're soaking wet!" The woman walked to the back of the flower shop and retrieved a towel from the closet, draping it over Ino's shoulders. "You're father was getting worried, you were out longer than you should for your lunch break...Are you alright dear?"

Ino nodded, even though knowing fully well that she wasn't.

The woman then looked at Ino. "Your father wants you home now."

Ino nodded. She grabbed her coat and walked out of the flower shop. She put her hands in her pockets and began to walk home, her blue eyes planted on the ground. It was still pouring raining, and then a sound of thunder was heard.

She used her key to open the door to her house, her father stood up from his place on the couch.

"Ino, dear. You're soaking wet." Her father went over to her and hugged her tightly. "I was worried sick about you..."

Ino leaned in to her father's embrace. "I'm okay father..." She said calmly. _But actually...i'm not..._

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y. – Hey everyone! That was chapter 4! I hope it was good! Please read and review, no flames.


	6. Chapter 5:Thoughts

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y: Hello everyone, sorry that I took so long to update. I'm just really stressed out and depressed lately, so I took off to find some inspiration and just think. I hope you guys are still interested in this fiction. Yes I edited it, but for the better of the story. Hope ya like.

Please read and review, no flames.

I'd like to thank **-Kristine X3-** for beta-reading my story, and adding paragraphs throughout the chapter. You're awesome!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, or its characters. I only own this story plot. Simple. So if you try and sue, you'll only receive a wonderful pink bubble gum wrapper. Yum.

This story has nothing to do with the original plot. Just making sure you guys know.

_Chapter started at: July 23, 4:16PM_

_**Chapter 5: Thoughts**_

It was yet another day in Konoha. The sky was a wonderful blue, the sun shone brightly on the village, and a light warm breeze blew occasionally. Villagers did the usual, converse among one another, and the children ran around with no worries what so ever.

Sasuke sat on a tree branch, just looking at the village below him. He needed some time alone, away from Sakura and Naruto. He swore that they both drive him mad. When they had begun training earlier in the morning, Sakura had the nerve to come to his house, saying that she wanted to walk with him to the training grounds. He had no way to get rid of her, so he had unwillingly walked with her. It wasn't that Sakura was like those other fangirls, or even as annoying as them. But, for some reason, he just couldn't stand her. Yes, he knew she cared for him, but he just didn't "click" with her. She then began to talk to him, but he really wasn't listening to her babbling nonsense. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance as he heard her talking about how annoying Naruto was. He recalled she did that before, and he had told her she was annoying. So now, he was going to tell her again.

"Sakura," Sasuke turned to her. "I agreed to walk with you. I never agreed to hear you talk nonsense."

Sakura's sea-foam green eyes had widened.

"Just be quiet, you're so annoying. I thought Naruto was, but you're worse," Sasuke shoved his hands into his shorts' pockets and walked ahead of her, leaving a stunned Sakura standing in the same spot.

So now Sasuke was sitting in a tree, away from Sakura, away from Naruto. His onyx eyes glanced downwards, and he saw Ino. She was sitting on a bench, eating some ramen noodles. She was wearing her usual outfit, her long hair was pinned up with the exception of a few strands and the usual long bang, and she had on her yellow apron. She looked sad once again. Sasuke jumped to a lower branch to get a good look at her. She basically looked dead.

Sasuke didn't think Ino would ever look like this. He always remembered that spunky attitude of hers. He remembered how Sakura and Ino would always compete for his attention. Ino, the girl who had always flaunted her beauty and had so much confidence that people thought her ego was getting huge. Sasuke had automatically labeled, "Annoying and a bitch." He had thought she was worse than Sakura. But to be frank, now that Sasuke sat here and thought about it, she wasn't as bad as Sakura. Ino did compete for his attention, he admitted that, but she wasn't exactly **as** annoying.

Sakura was just plain annoyed him, especially after they had been assigned to the same team. Sakura began to brag about being on the same team as him, thinking she had a chance. Whenever Kakashi-Sensei assigned those missions, Sakura would always try and get closer to him in some way. Not to mention during battles, Sakura would hardly fight. She was help, she did advise the team and rooted for him and Naruto, but she would hardly get in the action. That annoyed him the most, but he was grateful for her advisement. He then realized that even though she may not always participate in battle, she had a strong will, and even if the odds are against them, she would always support the team and tell them that they could do it.

Ino was just the same as any other girl. She had googly-eyes whenever he was around, she'd argue with Sakura whenever they battled for his attention. But Ino could back it up. Ino was strong during battle, and she may be scared sometimes, but Ino would fight. Her Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique), where the ninja creates a hand seal to focus on an enemy and the ninja's spirit enters their opponent's body for a brief period of time, intrigued him the most. Ino is quite bossy when it comes to her team, but she cares about them a lot.

And now that he thought about it, Ino wasn't a bitch, only to Sakura. He couldn't think up of a reason why he had thought of her as a bitch. Was it because since everyone else called her a bitch, that he believed it? Was it because she always needlessly flaunted her beauty like an attention whore? Was it because she was so confident that people often mistaken her for conceited?

Sasuke's eyes widened. He had always called them both annoying, but now he realized that neither Sakura nor Ino was too bad. It took him until now to realize that he had only been thinking about himself and not others. He realized that he was so bent on getting revenge on his brother, that he considered everyone who got in his way or slowed him down annoying. He thought that he didn't have time to consider other people, but in reality he did. 'Then again,' he thought, 'I'm still going to revenge my clan. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can change my mind.'

Sasuke watched Ino finish her food and walk off, Ino had much more to deal with than Sakura now. Of course, people used to call Sakura weak and a nerd. But Ino has to deal with being called a lot worst. She has to deal with being called degrading names, names that can rip someone apart from the inside out, names that can make someone's confidence go way down. Now Sasuke slightly understood her a bit more. Sure, he was never called those degrading names upfront, but he knew. Whenever he turned his back, people, especially jealous people, would call him names such as "gay", "lone wolf", "stuck up" or "arrogant" just because he wasn't sociable. Just because he didn't talk to many people and kept to himself, people would degrade him while acting like his biggest fan. Sure, he had a different point of view than other people, and he wasn't as friendly as he should be, but that was no reason to say things like that. He guessed he did know how Ino felt.

He jumped off the tree and started walking, with his hands in his pockets. In a way, he was scared of this new experience, not knowing if it was for the worse or better, but he couldn't hide the fact that he had feelings too, no matter how hard he tried. He did feel sympathy for people; happy and sad at times, but he would always hide it, no matter what. Now, he learned something new about himself, something that he hadn't realized.

This experience was starting to make him realize that in a way, he also, hid behind a mask….

**-End chapter-**

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y- Hoped you guys like, I worked hard on this chapter, and I appreciate everyone reading. Please read and review, and thank you so much for taking the time out to read this story. I'm sorry for taking so long to update, I'll try and update quicker, and it's not fair to you guys….


	7. Chapter 6: You Can't Deny Your Feelings

**N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.A.U.R.Y**: Hello everyone. I'm happy that you guys enjoyed the chapter. And thank you for your concern, I am feeling much better than before. Once again, I'm so glad that many people can relate to this story, and I'm happy that it has inspired some of you. It makes me really happy. By the way, I hope you guys don't mind, in this fic, Ino's mother is deceased. It just works well with the plot…for some reason.

Hope you like this chapter. Please read and review, thank you.

This story has nothing to do with the original plot, just reminding you guys.

I wanna thank my great beta-reader **-Kristine x3-**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. Simply put.

_**Chapter 6: You Can't Deny Your Feelings…**_

Ino sat in her bedroom, staring out the window. She listened as the rain hit the window, watching the rain drops cascade down the window and splattering on the ground. Her blue eyes looked at the many clouds in the sky.

Ino had planned to go to the flower shop today, but her father was getting even more worried about her, so she agreed to stay home, to make him happy. She sighed and took out her journal. Sometimes she wrote in and sometimes she didn't. She had forgotten to write in it the previous day, so she planned to write in it today.

_**Dear Journal,**_

_**  
Sorry that I forgot to write to you yesterday, I guess I was too upset to even write. Well today, nothing new is happening; I'm stuck here in my house. My dad wouldn't let me go to the flower shop today, so I had to stay. It's not that I don't want to stay here, I love my dad with all my heart, but for some reason the flower shop makes me feel content. Just being around flowers lifts up my spirit, makes me feel at ease. **_

_**I still like Sasuke, and every night, I have more dreams about him. Then again, I know we'll never be together. Sasuke and I were never meant to be, he probably likes Sakura. At first, I couldn't understand why he would like her, but then again, I'm not one to talk. I mean, she's strong, VERY intelligent, she has a strong will and everything…I'm not. **_

_**Sure, I may be blessed with good looks, but what's the point of having good looks when no one likes you…Especially the person you lo-I mean, like. **_

_**But anyway, I'm not the only girl who likes him. MANY other girls like him, so why would he like me out of all people? He can have any girl he wants. He would never want me….**_

_**Getting a headache, I'll write again soon.**_

She closed the book to her journal and sighed, putting a slender hand against her forehead. She felt like her heart was going to burst. Everytime she thought about Sasuke, even writing his name will get her heart worked up. She wished it would stop. She had asked one of the workers at the flower shop about this. Her name was Hikaru, and she was like a motherly-figure to her.

"_Young love, it had always intrigued me." Hikaru had said dreamily._

Ino had thought it was a mistake. It had to be, she was only 15 years old. She shouldn't even know what love is.

"_That isn't true. You can't deny your feelings. If you're in love, you're in love. Whether you like it or not and if you keep bottling up your feelings like you do now, one day you're going to break." Hikaru said._

Ino continued to look out the window. There were still many villagers outside, most with umbrellas. All of the different colors, it looked like a parade of umbrellas. Ino placed her hand on the window and stared outside dreamily. She then saw Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. Her heart seemed to jump out of her chest. Sakura had a pink umbrella, twirling it around happily. Naruto seemed to be talking nonstop, walking under Sakura's umbrella, and Sasuke had his sweater hood over his head, his hands in his sweater pockets. Ino looked; she longed to be as happy as they were, she longed to be there with them, with Sasuke. But of course, many other girls did too. She then saw Sakura link arms with Sasuke. Ino noticed Sasuke's eyebrow twitch, but he didn't do anything. Ino felt jealousy. Of course Sakura had held Sasuke's hand and Naruto's before during the chunnin exams, but for some reason, Ino felt extremely jealous.

Ino walked away from the window and walked inside the bathroom, she picked up a brush, and began to brush her long hair. She stared at her reflection, the girl looking back at her looked sad. She continued to brush her hair, and then she suddenly felt her hand start to tremble.

_W-what's wrong with me…? Why am I shaking?_

She felt tears gather in the corner of her eyes. She looked at her reflection again; her eyes were starting to look rather puffy. She then saw tears cascade down her cheeks, and now her whole body started to tremble.

_Why am I crying…? There's no reason…_

Ino dropped the brush and bent her head down, a hiccup escaping her lips.

What's wrong with me?

* * *

**LATER…**

Ino had just finished eating dinner with her father. She washed the dishes, and then she sat on the couch in the living room. Her father was already sitting on another chair, reading a book quietly. He looked up at Ino and sighed.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments, neither of them making the slightest noise, except for her father, occasionally clearing his throat.

"Ino," Her father sighed and looked at her. "Ino, just tell me what's wrong. Is it because you're missing your mother?"

Ino shook her head. Her mother had died a few years earlier from an illness. It had taken Ino some time to recuperate from that. "No it isn't father. I mean I miss her, but that's not the problem." Ino sighed, running her hands through her pale blonde hair, which was in a low-ponytail instead of the usual high one. "I'm fine father…."

Her father sighed sadly and hugged her. "You know…that you can tell me anything, right?"

Ino leaned into his embrace. "Yeah…I'm alright…" Ino hugged him back.

_Well, at least I have someone who loves me no matter what…_Ino had thought.

--------------------------------------------------

Ino peeked inside of her father's room; she smiled softly, seeing him sleep peacefully. She put on an orange T-shirt with black pants that reached a few inches above her knees. She walked onto the porch, and closed the front door ever-so-softly. She locked it, and then started walking. It was night-time, the moon casting a beautiful glow on the village. Ino had decided to take a walk; she'd been inside all day, and wanted to get some fresh air. She walked to the park and sat on a bench. Her blue eyes lit up; Just seeing the stars made her feel so happy. She could stare at the night sky forever. She yawned and stretched her arms, leaning her back against the bench.

_It's so beautiful out here. It's quiet, the stars are out…I wish it could stay like this forever…_She thought, she felt her eyes begin to feel heavy, and she closed them.

----------------------------------------------------

Sasuke exited his house, and began to walk. He felt the cold night wind hit his face, and he sighed. He had tried to get some sleep, but for some reason he couldn't. So he decided to take a walk to past some time by. He put his hands into his sweater's pockets and continued to walk. He reached the park and sat on a random bench. He looked at the sky and sighed. It reminded him of when he and his mother looked at the night sky together. When he couldn't get any sleep, he would always ask his mom to look at the stars with him. Sasuke glanced around, and his eyebrow rose with curiosity. He walked over to another bench, to see Ino sleeping, sitting up. Her hands were neatly placed on her lap, and her head was tilting a bit, her long hair draped over her shoulder and her lap.

_Sleeping in the park at night alone?_ He stared at her sleeping form. _Should I wake her up…?_ He contemplated over what he should do, and then he poked her forehead.

"Yamanaka wake up."

* * *

Ino was having one of those dreams again. It took place in somewhere very foreign to her. Different colored swirls and dots were her dream. She saw stars, and then more colors appeared. It was like an endless abyss of colors...

She then felt something, and her blue eyes opened slowly. She groaned and then looked in front of her.

_Sasuke!_

Her heart had started to beat really fast. It was happening again, just like earlier.

"Sasuke…" She said, sitting up straight.

Sasuke moved his finger from her forehead and stared down at her.

"What are you doing sleeping here? Shouldn't you be home?" Sasuke asked.

Ino stood up. "Oh," Ino flushed, her cheeks turning pink in embarrassment. "I was just taking a walk, and I guess I got too comfortable and fell asleep."

Sasuke listened to her speak and closed his eyes. He then opened them, and saw her shiver, rubbing her bare arms with her hands to keep warm.

Sasuke sighed and took off his sweater, throwing it at her nonchalantly, his back turned to her.

"Sasuke-"

"You should go home." Sasuke said his back still to her.

Ino looked at his back for a second, before slipping on the sweater and nodding. "O-okay." She began to walk; she then stopped when she noticed him following her.

Sasuke looked at her, narrowing his eyes. "Well?"

Ino blushed again. "Uh-"

"I'm walking you home. Who knows who's out here at this time of night."

Ino began walking again, hearing Sasuke's footsteps behind her. Ino felt her heart beat faster, she felt nervous, afraid to do something stupid. She felt abnormal.

_Sasuke walking me home…? I didn't expect that much…_She thought as she continued to walk.

Soon she reached her house, and stopped at her front door.

"Thank you Sasuke for-"She turned around to see that Sasuke was no longer there. She looked up at the sky,

"He forgot…his sweater…" She muttered. She hugged herself, the sweater smelled just like cinnamon. Just like Sasuke…

She opened the front door, and looked back at the sky one more time, before heading inside_. I guess I am in love…_ She thought.

* * *

Sasuke stood on a tree branch, watching Ino walk inside. He closed his eyes and smirked to himself; she can keep the sweater. He had more of them at his house. The wind blew his raven hair gently, and his onyx eyes looked at Ino's house one more time, before he disappeared into the night….

* * *

**N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.A.U.R.Y**: Hey everyone! Hoped you like the chapter. I don't really know if Sasuke smells like cinnamon, but I can be creative! Please read and review. Thanks for taking the time out to read this! 


	8. Chapter 7: Father's Ill

**N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y.** - Hello again. I'm glad that you guys enjoyed the last chapter. And now here's the next chapter, hope you like…

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, but I love watching the show!

I'd like to thank my beta-reader **-Kristine x3-**

**_Chapter 7: Father's Ill…_**

Ino sighed as she handed a bouquet of flowers to the last customer, and put the money into the cash register. The man nodded in gratitude and walked out. Ino sat back down and tapped her finger against the desk. Her blue eyes glanced outside; the sky was blue, and there were many clouds in the air. It was quite cold outside for some reason; maybe it would rain later on. She smiled as she eyed the sweater that Sasuke had given her a few weeks ago…

**+Flashback…+**

_Sasuke listened to her speak and closed his eyes. He then opened them, and saw her shiver, rubbing her bare arms with her hands to keep warm._

_Sasuke sighed and took off his sweater, throwing it at her nonchalantly, his back turned to her._

"_Sasuke-"_

"_You should go home." Sasuke said his back still to her._

_Soon she reached her house, and stopped at her front door._

"_Thank you Sasuke for-"She turned around to see that Sasuke was no longer there. She looked up at the sky, "He forgot…his sweater…" She muttered. She hugged herself, the sweater smelled just like cinnamon. Just like Sasuke…_

**+End of Flashback+**

The sweater now hung in the closet of the flower shop; she had worn it when she had arrived here. She opened the closet door, turning the knob and hearing a small 'click.' She retrieved the sweater and put it on. She then began closing the shop. She then began walking home; today had been peaceful. She trained that morning with Chouji and Shikamaru, and then went to the Flower Shop. It's all been peaceful from there. She smiled a bit, and then looked at her sleeve.

Sasuke's sweater.

She never thought that she'd be the one wearing it. She didn't mind of course, so she really shouldn't complain.

She approached her house, and then opened the door, walking inside quietly. She took off her shoes and placed them on the mat.

"Father I'm home," She said as she walked inside the living room.

Her father was usually in the living room when she got home, but he wasn't in there. It grew quite uncomfortable, without her father in the room. It was deathly silent without having the usual comfort of hearing the turning of pages from a newspaper, the comfort of a warm smile when she entered the house.

Her father had begun to act strange for the past few weeks. He would have these unusual headaches. His calm manner changed, like he suddenly had another personality. He would apologize, but it had gotten Ino worried. Everytime she would ask him what was wrong, he would wave it off, saying he was okay.

She sighed and started to head up the stairs, running her hands along the wall. She went inside of her room first, and decided to change into something comfortable.

She went through her drawers and retrieved a pale blue short-sleeved shirt which complimented her eyes well, and the usual black shorts that almost reached her knees. She draped Sasuke's sweater over her chair and sighed. She released her hair from its tight prison and put it in a loose low ponytail. Afterwards, she walked out of her room and down the hallway towards her father's room.

She knocked on the door. "Father…?" She waited for a response.

No one answered.

She pushed the door open and walked inside his room. "Father…?"

"I'm in the bathroom honey," She heard him say.

"Are you alright?" She asked, she walked up to the bathroom and saw him looking in the mirror, wiping his mouth. Ino's blue eyes widened a bit.

"Were you throwing up?"

"I guess I have the stomach flu or something," He said and he smiled weakly.

"Dad, maybe we should see a doctor-"

"I said I'm fine!" He snapped at her, cutting her off. "..You should get some dinner for yourself, I'm not very hungry." He said and closed his eyes.

Ino frowned, and then nodded as she slowly walked out.

**The Next day…  
**

It was Sunday, 6:00 PM, closing time for the flower shop. Ino closed the shop and began walking home. The sky was gray and it was raining pretty heavily. She sighed and put the hood of her sweater over her head.

She wasn't as happy as she was before. Her father is starting to worry her a lot. His vomiting had increased, his headaches had gotten worse. She didn't know what was wrong. She practically begged him to see a doctor, but he would decline and snap at her. His stubbornness was making her worry the most. She stepped in front of her house and sighed. She opened the door and walked inside. She took of the sweater and draped it on the couch.

"Father?"

She looked around and then walked inside the kitchen.

_Guess I'll start making dinner…_She thought as she entered the kitchen.

Her blue eyes widened. There on the floor, laid her father.

"Father!" She ran over to him and shook him. "Father! Father!" She shook him, but he didn't budge. "Oh no, oh no." She panicked, tears immediately threatening to fall.

_I have…to take him to the hospital…_

She regained her posture; this was no time to panic. She didn't have time to panic; she had to get her father to the hospital. She draped his arms around her shoulders and lifted his body onto her back, she used her sweater to tie it around his waist and around her, so he wouldn't fall Kind of like how Luffy carried Namie when she was ill. She then walked out of the door. Her father was quite heavy, but she had to help him. She looked up at the sky for a brief moment, and sighed before she began walking. She took careful steps, but at the same time walked as fast as she could. Soon she was power-walking, stumbling at points because of his weight.

She winced a bit, almost falling. _No time to slow down…my father needs me…_ She thought as she started to pick up the momentum. The rain pounded violently on her face and her exposed arms. She was getting quite cold, Goosebumps appearing on her arms. But right now she didn't focus on herself; she focused on getting to the hospital…  
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_**At the Hospital…  
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Ino stepped inside the hospital; she was soaked to the bone. Her pale blonde hair hung limply, and some strands sticking to her forehead. She had Goosebumps all over, she was trembling. Everyone in the waiting room stared at her, and a nurse covered her mouth in shock. Ino saw Sakura; she had forgotten that Sakura was getting training to become a medical Nin. Sakura's green eyes were wide with shock. But Ino paid no attention to her.

Ino spoke, her voice quivering. "H-help, my father. Please." She said, and then her eyes closed, the last thing she saw were nurses running over to her.  
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Blue eyes opened, only to be blinded by a bright white light.

Ino groaned and blinked her eyes a few times to get used to the light. She turned her head and saw her pink-haired friend at the doorway. Sakura was looking at Ino with concern as she walked in.

"Ino…are you alright, what happened to you!" Sakura asked her and walked over to her side.

She looked down; she was dressed in a white kimono-like robe. She looked around the room, and then her blue eyes widened. Ino sat up, suddenly remembering what happened

"Where is my father! Where is he!" Ino started to get out of bed.

"Ino, wait you should stay in bed!" Sakura said, attempting to keep her still.

"I'm just fine, but my father! Where is he Sakura!" Ino asked her.

Sakura sighed. She knew she couldn't stop Ino. Once Ino had her eyes set on something she never gave up.

"Follow me."

"Right." Ino got up and followed Sakura. Soon they arrived at another room, and her father lay on the bed. She would have never thought she would see her father like this. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes and she held back a sob.

A doctor entered the room. "Yamanaka Ino, his daughter correct?"

Ino nodded.

"Well we've done some tests and it seems that your father has a brain tumor…"

Ino's eyes widen. This couldn't be happening!

"…You must be mistaken…" She said, a lump forming in her throat. "H-he was fine…yesterday…."

"Well your father has checked in before, and we recommended that he make an appointment for computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans to highlight abnormalities…and we also had planned a biopsy for testing the tissue...But he never came back." The doctor said, adjusting his glasses with his finger.

"…Is there anything you can do now?" Ino asked him with pleading eyes.

The doctor sadly shook his head. "There is nothing we can do now…I'm sorry. He doesn't have long to live…maybe a few more weeks if we're lucky."

Ino looked down and sadly nodded. "I understand…" She says.

Sakura stared at Ino. "Ino…I'm sorry,"

Ino shrugged Sakura off and sat next to her father, squeezing his hand.

_Why didn't you tell me…Father?_

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y.- I did some research on brain tumors in case you were wondering…I know this story is sad…but that is the purpose…please read and review…thank you.

Next Chapter: **_Bottling Up…_**


	9. Chapter 8: Bottling Up

**N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y.** - Hello everyone, thank you for your reviews. Please enjoy this chapter. Read and review, thank you! And as for when the story takes place, I was thinking after the chunnin exams when I first wrote this. I hope this doesn't displease anyone; after all, it is a** fanfiction.**

I want to thank my great beta-reader **-Kristine X3-**.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. But I do own the plot of this story and that is all.

_**Chapter 8: Bottling Up...**_

Ino sat in a chair next to the medical bed in which her father laid. She was peeling an apple for him. It had been a few days after she learned of her father's condition. She sighed and continued to peel the apple, putting the skin on a paper towel. Her blue eyes showed sadness as she handed her father the apple.

"Thank you dear." He said as he began to eat the apple, he smiled happily, as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Ino nodded and smiled sadly. She looked down and placed her hands neatly on her lap, her blue eyes trailed away from her father. Every time she looked at him, her eyes began to sting and she could feel tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't let them escape; she didn't want to cry anymore. She wanted to be strong, strong for her father, and for herself. She made a promise to herself that she wouldn't cry anymore. And she intended on keeping that promise…

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It was beginning to grow dark outside, after the training session was over, Shikamaru wiped his forehead.

"Well, Ino are you coming? We've been training all day." He said as he yawned.

Ino continued to practice her punches, ignoring Shikamaru.

"…How troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed. "Ino you can stop, training is over."

Ino continued to practice her punches, she looked fully concentrated, and at the same time Shikamaru saw in her eyes…anger.

Chouji looked at Ino. "Uh Ino,"

"I'm still training, I won't stop!" Ino said. Her knuckles began to turn red, and she figured they would probably start bleeding, but she didn't care. It was stress-relieving when she trained, and it made her feel so much better. It was a way for her not to cry, but to just let it all out with punches and kicks.

"But Ino-"

"Would you just go away and leave me alone?" Ino yelled angrily as she began to punch more violently.

Chouji looked at Shikamaru.

"Come on Chouji, once she's fixed like that, our words don't matter anymore." Shikamaru said as he lazily put his hands in his pockets. Soon he and Chouji were gone from the training grounds.

Ino then began to practice her kicks and as she did so, her father entered her mind. The thought of losing him made her kick swifter, harder. She had no mercy on the hanging block of wood. Her blue eyes began to look puffy, and were beginning to sting again, but she wouldn't let the tears fall. Instead, she transferred all of the sadness into anger and took it out on her training. She growled and kicked the block of wood as hard as she could, making it fall. She bent down and breathed heavily; she was starting to get angry. She got up and began to punch the tree, not wanting to stop. Her hands were starting to hurt badly, but she continued punching the tree.

All this anger, all this pain had to come out, no matter who got hurt……  
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Sasuke had just finished training with Team 7.

"Bye Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said, smiling brightly. "See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah see you," Naruto said, looking a bit jealous because Sakura never bid him goodbye as she does with Sasuke.

Sasuke grunted and shoves his hands in his pockets. He began to walk home, looking at the sky which was now a dark blue as it was nighttime. A cool breeze blew his raven hair gently as he continued walking. He glanced around him, and saw a figure near a tree. As he walked near the tree, he could see Ino punching the tree. She battle-cried each time she punched the tree; he noted that she sounded rather angry. He then remembered what Sakura had told him and Naruto; that she was going to lose her father. He stared at her, as she punched the tree repeatedly, contemplating on what he should do. He then decided to ignore her, so he continued walking.

But, he then stopped. For some reason she wouldn't leave his mind, it was bothering him that he was going to leave her alone. He sighed and narrowed his eyes. He turned around and walked back to where Ino was….

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Ino continued to punch the tree, her movements were starting to begin to slow down because she was exhausted, but she continued to punch the tree. Her knuckles hurt like hell and they were probably bleeding.

"Hey, you'd better stop that," someone from within the shadows said. Ino figured it was Shikamaru, so she narrowed her eyes and started to punch the tree harder, her anger and ignorance getting the better of her.

"**Hey, stop it…"**

Suddenly she felt someone grab her arms from behind her. She then turned around and saw Sasuke. Her blue eyes widen a bit, but then she obeyed him and stopped. He held up her hands and looked at her knuckles, which were bleeding. He narrowed his eyes and led her to a bench.

"Sit," He commanded. Unwillingly, Ino sat down, and Sasuke took out some bandages from his equipment pouch. He began to bandage her hands, and Ino watched. Her blue eyes were a bit wide. Sasuke finished bandaging her hands and his onyx eyes stared at her.

"What was that all about?" He asked her.

Ino frowned. "I-I don't know…" She looked away.

Sasuke stared at her for a moment and then looked at the ground. "I heard about your father."

Ino smiled a bit. "Sakura must've told you, huh?" Ino smiled, a smile full of regret and sadness. But, Ino felt her eyes beginning to sting and looked away.

Sasuke looked at Ino's face. Her eyes easily told him that she was exhausted, and she looked as if she were about to cry. He then saw her eyes start to look puffy.

Sasuke stood up, his back to her. "You shouldn't hold it in."

Ino looked up at him, a bit taken back.

"If you need to cry, then just do it," he said, a little harshly. 'yeah, like I should talk…" Sasuke thought to himself.

Ino listened to what Sasuke said. She looked down; He was right, holding it in was making her angry, making her feel worse. She sniffled, and soon she started to weep, harder than ever before. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Sasuke stood, hearing her weep. It reminded him of how he cried when he lost his parents. He pondered on what he should do next. He wanted to leave; he was never good in these types of predicaments, but it would eat away at his conscience if he just left her there.

He sat back down on the bench, and immediately Ino clung on to his shirt, fisting the material in her hands and she leaned against him, weeping into his shirt. Sasuke just sat there; He figured the best thing he could do now was to just let her cry. He felt awkward, not usually involved in types of situations like this. He hesitantly wrapped an arm around her sobbing form and patted her back gently. He figured it would be a good way to do something rather than just sitting there.

After a while, her sobbing had finally seized. He adjusted her and looked at her tear-streaked face; she cried herself to sleep. So, what should he do now? He sat there for a moment, and looked at the night sky.

He then got up from the bench, looking back at Ino. He sighed; he couldn't just leave her there. He carefully picked her up bridal style, and started to walk towards her house. He sighed as he continued walking. He felt a movement, and she was snuggling up on his chest. A light blush stained the Uchiha's cheeks and he looked away. Soon he made it to her house, and pulled the keys out of her pocket. He managed to open the door, closing it behind him, and he started to walk upstairs. He opened the door to her room and carefully laid her on the bed. He sighed and draped the blankets on her. He then opened her window and stepped outside it, closing it. He looked at her sleeping form once more before jumping into the trees, heading home…

**N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y.** - And that concludes the eight chapter of 'I'm Not What I Seem to Be.' Please read and review. Thank you. I know Sasuke is hesitant on what to do, but he's never been in that types of situation before you know?


	10. Chapter 9: Rivalry at It's Best

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y. - I'm so happy you guys liked that chapter! I was so nervous writing it, I was thinking like, 'What if I wrote a bad interaction between them', and 'I hope I didn't make it overly dramatic.' Well, enough of my babbling and let's get to the story! Here's the next chapter, please read and review, thank you.

And I apologize if you think I'm a Sakura-basher. I am not; I'm just giving the spotlight to someone else for once.

No flaming, thanks.

I want to thank my **_great_ **beta-reader **–Kristine x3-**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters. I only own the plot of this story.

_**Chapter 9: Learning the Truth; Rivalry at It's best!**_

Ino rolled over lazily, pulling the covers over her eyes to shield the sunlight pouring from the window. She groaned and rolled over on her back. She had a headache for some reason, and her hands hurt like hell. She sat up and blinked her eyes a couple of times to get used to the light. She sat on the edge of her bed, fisting a hand on her pants. She then noticed she slept in her clothes. Her blue eyes widened, remembering what happened the previous day. Her anger getting the best of her, and Sasuke stopping her.

Ino sighed and went into the bathroom. After taking a bath and changing into her lavender t-shirt and skirt with no bandages this time, for she was too lazy today, she then stepped outside the house and sat on the steps. She ran a hand through her pale blonde hair, which was pinned up with a hair clip. She put her hands on her forehead and tried to relax. She thought about the day before and regretted clinging onto Sasuke-kun like that, so she decided to apologize to Sasuke for her unacceptable behavior.

She continued walking, a light breeze blowing her loose bangs gently. She turned her head and saw Team 7 in their usual training grounds, getting ready to train. She wanted to train too, but it was obvious she was in no condition to. Her eyes remained on Sasuke, who was sitting against the tree nonchalantly, and Sakura, who was sitting next to him. By the looks of it, she was saying a lot at one time to him.

Ino took a deep breath, and started walking towards them. At the same time, Sasuke looked up.

"Sasuke-kun? What's wrong?" Sakura looked up and saw Ino approaching them.

"Oh…it's Ino-Pig, want me to scare her off?"

Sasuke ignored Sakura's comment and stood up, walking towards Ino. Sakura watched him, her eyes narrowed, feeling jealous immediately, especially since it was Ino.

Ino and Sasuke both stopped a few inches away from each other. Ino took another deep breath.

"Hi Sasuke-kun," She said, almost shyly.

"Hn…" Sasuke stood there, waiting for her to make her point. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to say sorry for…yesterday," Ino looked at her feet in embarrassment. "I must've made you extremely uncomfortable." She quickly bowed and glued her eyes onto the floor, showing a sign of respect. Although it killed her to show a vulnerable side of her, she decided she should do it anyways.

'But, Yamanaka Ino never admits defeat unless necessary…right?' Ino pondered on her personality while awaiting Sasuke's answer. 'Yeah…Yamanaka Ino never backs down, always head strong and loud…like always right?' Ino thought to herself, feeling somewhat down. In the meanwhile, Sasuke thought back on the night before.

_He felt a movement, and she was snuggling up on his chest. A light blush stained the Uchiha's cheeks and he looked away._

Oh yeah, that was extremely uncomfortable.

He could feel heat arise on his cheeks, but fought back the blush somehow. When he thought about her being so close, he started to feel weird; his heart would beat really fast.

"…Hn." Sasuke, accepting her apology, began to walk away.

Sakura frowned and stood up; walking over to Ino.

"What did you say to Sasuke-kun!"

Ino glared at Sakura. "It has nothing to do with you forehead girl, mind your own business!" Ino poked Sakura's forehead, she was beginning to sound her old self.

"Ino-Pig, you better stay away from my Sasuke-kun!"

"Who made him yours forehead girl! He's not a toy, he doesn't belong to you!" Ino yelled.

Sasuke sat against the tree again and rolled his eyes. 'Annoying…' He thought.

"I don't have time for this." Ino turned away from Sakura and walked away.

Sakura put her hands on her hips and pouted. She walked over to Sasuke. "So, as I was saying…"

Sasuke could hear her talking, but he wasn't listening. He was curious to why Sakura and Ino had stopped being friends in the first place. He knew that they were best friends when they were younger, and he wanted to know how they ended up like this…as rivals…

After Team 7 finished training, Sakura placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "So Sasuke-kun, do you want to walk home together?"

Sasuke shrugged her arm off. "No."

Sakura pouted. "Please?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and started walking home.

"Okay bye Sasuke-kun see ya tomorrow!" Sakura waved.

Naruto walked over to Sakura. "Hey…uhm Sakura…do you want to walk home together!" Naruto asked her.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "No!" She walked away and left a disappointed Naruto behind…

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Sasuke sat on a bench in the park, snacking on an apple. He was still thinking about his confrontation with Ino. He had never done that with anyone before. He wasn't one to comfort other people when he couldn't even comfort himself. He didn't know what came over him when he told her to cry.

_If you need to cry, then just do it. _He had said to her the previous day. He didn't have the right to say that; he never let himself cry, he never released his feelings. He felt like a hypocrite…then again, maybe he was.

He then saw Ino, once again picking flowers.

Now that she was here, it reminded him of what he wanted to ask her. He walked over to her.

"I want to ask you a question," Sasuke said to her.

Ino turned around and looked at him. "Sasuke-kun."

"Why are you and Sakura no longer friends?"

Ino then became very still. She picked a flower and traced the petals with her fingers. She chuckled.

"It's a very petty reason actually," She said and sighed. "Well to put it shortly, Sakura and I had a crush on the same guy…When she found out that I had liked the same guy she did, she sat next to me and said, 'So I guess that means you and I are rivals.'.'" Ino said, and closed her eyes. She decided not to tell him who the guy was, it was better for him not to know anyway. "And, although I was the one who help her through all the bullying and teasing and always stood up for her, being her one and only friend, she chose a guy over me. Heh…I guess girls are trivial, right? Haha…" Ino starting to chuckle, although inside she wanted to let the sadness of a much cherished friendship out. (Editor's note: Yeah, I wrote this part, if it's not up that great; complain to me, not N.O.-S.A.N.T.U.A.R.Y)

Sasuke was a bit taken back, but didn't show it. He had always thought that Ino had ended the friendship instead of Sakura. In truth, he did accept and favor Sakura more for the lone fact that she and he were teammates, but he had did not expect this. It sounded very petty indeed; he didn't actually think Sakura would end a friendship with her best friend because of one person.

"That's all I wanted to know," Sasuke said and turned around. "Bye."

"Goodbye Sasuke-"Ino looked up, but Sasuke was no longer there.

Sasuke still thought about what Ino had told them; to be honest, it sickened him a bit. He didn't know why, he was an avenger; he shouldn't care about other people's problems. But, for some reason, it bothered him. He stopped walking and stood alert; someone was following him. He silently drew his kunai from his weapon pouch and chucked it to his right. He heard a squeal, a very familiar squeal. He narrowed his eyes and spoke.

"Why are you following me Sakura?"

Sakura came from hiding and walked over to him, the kunai thrown at her in her hands.

"Sasuke-kun, I wasn't following you, I was just passing by…" The pink-haired kunoichi said as she handed him his kunai. "You know you have excellent aim Sasuke-kun, no wonder why you're one of the best rookies."

He narrowed his eyes again; he hated when she complimented him. She was a suck up.

"Hn…" He began to walk again.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura jogged to catch up to the raven-haired shinobi. "I just was curious…how come you were talking to Ino just a minute ago?"

Sasuke's onyx eyes glanced at her; those emotionless orbs staring at her for a moment, before he looked away. "I thought you weren't following me," He said bitterly. "What does it have to do with you anyway Sakura?"

Sakura looked at him with wide sea-foam green eyes. "I was just…wondering, that's all."

"Don't expect an answer then," Sasuke said as he went his separate way to his home.

Sakura stood there and frowned. She then looked up into the sky.

_Ino-Pig…whatever you're doing, you better not take Sasuke-kun away from me…._ Sakura said as she clenched her fist. She worked to hard to even get him to take a glimpse at her, she wouldn't lose to Ino.

"**I won't lose to you…Ino…"**

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y. - A bit of competitiveness! I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please read and review, thank you!


	11. Chapter 10: Another Point Of View

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y: Hello everyone! I'm back with another chapter! Sorry it took so long, I was writing it out in my notebook first and I couldn't get any ideas...

Once again I apologize if you think I am a Sakura-basher; I am not, I'm just giving the spotlight to her rival.

School is coming, so that means I probably won't be on the computer as much or writing stories. So I'm going to update faster, this story should be a few more chapters before the end…

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Please read and review, no flames.

I would like to thank my **_great_** beta reader **–Kristine x3-**

_**Chapter 10: Another Point Of View**_

A pink-haired kunoichi headed for Team 7's training grounds, her sea-foam green eyes planted on the ground below her. She thought back on Sasuke's encounter with her ex-best friend Ino. Sakura was definitely jealous; it took her some time to get where she stood with Sasuke, even if he only acknowledged her as a fellow teammate. When she saw Sasuke and Ino talking, her was filled with rage and jealousy. She clenched her fist and looked up into the rich blue sky.

She thought back on ending the friendship between her and Ino over the Uchiha prodigy. At times she felt it were a mistake; Ino had always been there for her. When Sakura had been made fun of because of her forehead, Ino gave her the confidence she didn't know she had. Ino stuck up for Sakura when she was teased. Sakura looked up to Ino as her remodel.

Ino was always beautiful, confident, and talented. Sakura wanted to be just like her. Sakura sometimes found herself upset for ending such a great friendship. But, when she learned that Ino had liked Sasuke as well, Sakura decided that they would be rivals; Sakura promised herself that she would win Sasuke's heart and become greater than Ino. She would prosper, she would not lose…

Sakura finally arrived at Team 7's training grounds, seeing Sasuke there already leaning against a tree. Sakura approached him, taking a deep breath.

"Hello Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke grunted in response.

"Where's Naruto? I expect Kakashi-Sensei to be late, but not Naruto." Sakura said.

"Hn…Naruto is probably stuffing his face with ramen." He said in his usual cold tone. Sasuke had opened up a bit more to Sakura and Naruto, which made her happy that it was progressing.

Sakura chuckled and then looked down. "By the way Sasuke-kun, I want to say, sorry for being so nosy the other day." She quickly bowed and stayed there in sign of respect.

Sasuke looked at her, about to say something, but then saw Kakashi and Naruto. Noticing Naruto and Kakashi's chakra, she raised her head to yell.

"You're both late!" Sakura said, pointing at them.

Naruto ruffled his hair in embarrassment. "Sorry about that Sakura-chan, I was hungry so I stopped by the ramen bar!" He explained and sweatdropped.

"You baka!" Sakura huffed.

They began to train, practicing aiming kunai at targets. As they practiced, Sakura noticed Sasuke seemed a bit distracted. He chucked a kunai at the wooden target, successfully hitting it. His onyx eyes kept glancing in a certain direction. Sakura hit a few targets and bent slightly, panting. She looked in the direction in which Sasuke looked. She narrowed her eyes; Ino was training, sparring with Shikamaru, Chouji watching them.

_Sasuke is looking at Ino…but why?_ Sakura contemplated. _Am I really losing to Ino, again?_

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Ino made her punches become swifter; Shikamaru dodged her punches, catching her fist. Ino aimed a kick at him to break his grip, causing him to let go of her hand and duck to avoid her kick.

"Not bad," Shikamaru said, dodging her kick and aiming punches at her.

Ino smirked. "Well of course, you have no idea who you're fighting with!" She said confidently, holding her arms up defensively while dodging his punches. She was feeling good today for some reason, feeling like her old self.

Shikamaru jumped to her right and started rapidly kicking at her. She continued to dodge his attacks, smirking while ducking and shuffling to dodge his kicks. As she looked up, onyx met blue. Her eyes glimmered in surprise, as she made eye contact with Sasuke, making the mistake of letting her guard down.

She felt a blow to her face, sending her stumbling backwards.

"Never let your guard down." Shikamaru smirked cockily.

Ino stuck out her tongue. "Shut up," She wiped the blood trailing from her mouth. "I'm exhausted let's take a break."

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Sasuke threw another kunai into the target. He felt his heart racing; when he made eye contact with Ino, he thought his heart jumped out of his chest. He never liked making eye contact with people, it always meant that there was a connection, and connections were useless. He growled frustratingly and threw more kunai into the targets. He didn't understand what was going on with him. He had started thinking about Ino a lot more now, she wouldn't leave his mind. It made him angry and he was confused.

"Okay take a break," Kakashi said while turning a page to his perverted book. The mysterious jounin glanced at Sasuke. "Something wrong, you look furious."

Sasuke retrieved his kunai and looked at his sensei. "No." He replied plainly. As he took the kunai out of the targets, his onyx eyes glanced in Ino's direction, watching her sit down on a flat rock and drink some water.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, watching Sasuke sit down.

_Ah…young love…Just didn't think it'd be Sasuke out of all people…_Kakashi thought, smiling through the fabric of his mask.

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Ino drank from her water bottle and sighed.

"How did you get so distracted back there?" Shikamaru asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I just let my guard down," She then smiled. "Just know that it won't happen again." She smirked confidently.

Shikamaru smirked. _I'm glad she's back to her old self. _He thought.

Ino looked up at the sky. _I didn't realize that the spot we chosen to train was near Team 7's training grounds…It's too late to leave now, it would make it obvious…_Ino thought. She thought of when they made eye contact, her heart starting to beat faster.

"Ino!"

Ino didn't pay attention to her teammate, her mind elsewhere. Suddenly a kunai was thrown in her direction. It took her a few moments to register what was aiming straight at her.

"Whoa!" Ino rolled out the path of the kunai.

"Shikamaru!" Ino glared at her teammate.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he watched the kunai pierce the tree, right beside Sasuke's head, slicing off a thin strand of his raven-hair. His onyx eyes were narrowed angrily.

"Look what you did!" Sakura exclaimed. "You almost hit Sasuke-kun!"

Shikamaru yawned and shrugged.

"My bad, sorry." He said nonchalantly.

Ino hit Shikamaru in the head.

"Are you crazy?"

"Youch!" Shikamaru grabbed his head.

Sakura glared at Shikamaru and then turned her attention to the raven-haired ninja.

"Are you alright Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke grunted and drew the kunai from the tree. He tossed the kunai to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru caught the kunai and twirled it around lazily.

"Hey next time watch what you're doing! Someone could get hurt!" Sakura said.

Ino frowned, running a hand through her hair. "He said sorry Sakura."

"Are you blind! Sasuke-kun could have gotten seriously hurt!" Sakura exclaimed worriedly.

"You're blowing this way out of proportion. I'm sure Sasuke would have dodged it anyway." Ino glowered.

Sakura glared back. How dare Ino say she was overdoing it! But she wondered, was she yelling at Ino on Sasuke's behalf, or for her own personal reasons? It was definitely for Sakura's own personal problem with Ino. She looked over at her teammates.

Naruto laughed, pointing at Sasuke.

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke said and hit Naruto.

"What was that for Sasuke-teme!" Naruto glared at him.

Sakura looked and saw that Ino and her team had left…

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It had been a few hours after training, and Sakura was sitting in the park, her hands folded neatly in her lap. She sighed.

_I can't believe Sasuke was so distracted today…Ino is winning, and even though I don't want to admit it…she is. Ino is ruining my chances of being with him…I made a promise to myself that I would win his heart…and I can't break that promise. I have to do this; I can't let her take him away from me…_ She thought.

Sakura wanted to be the one that people envied and respected, she wanted to get the positive attention, she wanted Ino to be envious of her, instead of her always being envious of Ino.

She supposed that is why she wanted to win Sasuke's heart. To make Ino envious of her…For Ino to be the one to lose for once...

As she looked around, she saw Ino walking in her direction, eating an apple. Sakura stood up and walked over to Ino, stopping in front of her.

"I will not lose to you."

"Likewise." Ino retorted.

And then they both went their separate ways.

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y. - Hoped you liked! As you can see I'm getting things moving now! So expect more Sasuke/Ino moments for the sake of the story.


	12. Chapter 11: Someone Just Shoot Me!

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y: Hello everyone! I guess you noticed that the last chapter was mostly of Sakura's point of view on what she thought of Ino and Sasuke

I first written chapter 10 out a bit different, but then I edited it after it was beta-read so that I wasn't going overboard, I made Sakura a bitch at the end. So I changed it before posting it.

So because I edited it, it had been mostly of Sakura's point of view in a somewhat positive way. This is good. Because I can totally understand where Sakura is coming from, I used to be in my best friend's shadow when I was growing up…But the only difference is that I and my best friend are STILL friends…

Anyway, school is coming up, so that means in a few chapters this story, will come to its **conclusion**…

Wow…160 reviews…I never gotten this much reviews before….I'm really surprised…Thank you so much. This really helps my confidence! Anyways, enough rambling and onto the next chapter! Enjoy!

I'd like to once again thank my **great** beta-reader **–Kristine x3- **

_**Chapter 11: Someone Just Shoot Me…**_

Sasuke cringed as the sunlight poured through the window. He frowned, throwing the covers over his head and sighed. He flipped on his back and lazily draped an arm over his forehead. His blinked, his onyx eyes staring at the blanket covering his entire form. He yawned; he hardly got any sleep last night.

As if his mind weren't occupied with other things that were stuck in his mind, Ino had to be one of them. It wasn't only today, but it has been everyday for the past few weeks. The blonde kunoichi wouldn't leave the Uchiha's mind. Especially after yesterday.

He was angry at himself for getting so distracted. When he saw Ino and Shikamaru sparring not too far away from where he was, he couldn't help but shift his eyes in that direction. Watching her graceful movements as she dodged Shikamaru's attacks, smiling confidently. That smile…

Sasuke slapped his forehead in frustration; He needed to clear his head.

And then when he and Ino made eye contact; He was angry at himself for letting it happen. Blue orbs met onyx.

He was getting really annoyed with this.

So he blamed his hormones. Yeah that had to be it. It couldn't be anything else. He doesn't long for people, so it had to be hormones.

He sighed and got up, throwing the covers off of him angrily as he dressed and left his house. He went to the Team 7's training grounds; Kakashi-Sensei had given them a day off today, so Sasuke was the only one there.

Great. He only wanted to be alone right now anyway.

He began to practice punching and kicking at the wooden block. It was a way to vent out all of his frustrations, at least for the time being.

He thought back on what Kakashi-Sensei had asked him the previous day.

_Something _wrong_? You look furious…_

Sasuke scowled; what made Kakashi-Sensei think that he was angry? Sasuke hoped that Kakashi-Sensei wasn't getting any ideas…

After what seemed like hours, Sasuke collapsed on the ground, panting. He wore himself out. He was sweating profusely, his hair sticking to his forehead. He wiped the perspiration away from his forehead and looked up into the sky. Many clouds were in the sky, and the sky was a rich blue. A blue that reminded him of someone's eyes…

He could see Ino's face in his mind, her smiling, the wind blowing her hair gently.

"Damn it!" Sasuke clenched his fist and pounded it against the grass in frustration. The only thing he should have in his mind is his plans on avenging his clan; but here he is thinking of Ino…

But she didn't mean anything to him; he convinced himself over and over again.

He didn't know what possessed him when he let her cry on him, he could remember feeling extremely uncomfortable. He should have just left, he wouldn't of gotten into that situation if he'd just left her there. She would have eventually walked herself home that night…but then something prevented him from just leaving her there. He didn't know what, but he couldn't leave her.

That time when he walked her home…He remembered watching her sleeping form for a few moments, before he poked her and she woke up. He remembered taking off his sweater and giving it to her. He didn't know why he didn't take it back; he regretted not taking it back. She better not had gotten any ideas, he only did it because he felt sorry for her…At least, that's what he told himself.

He remembered when he had approached her, asking about her strange behavior. When he tilted her chin, so she looked at his face, tears running down her face. That was when she ran off, and he didn't catch her.

So here he was now; reminiscing on all of the moments he shared with the blue-eyed kunoichi. He told himself over and over again that she meant nothing to him; He cared for no one but himself, and only had his mind set on killing his brother Itachi and avenging his clan.

So if she meant nothing to him, why did he keep talking to her? Why did he continue to involve with her? He growled and stood up, retrieving his weapons and heading back home.

This solo training session was useless, he finally concluded.

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The next day Sasuke sat on the ground, leaning his back against a tree, his eyes half-closed. He couldn't sleep…once again. He made a silent yawn.

"Sasuke-kun, you look sleepy," Sakura said, raising her hand against her chest worriedly, like she always did.

"Hn, I'm fine Sakura." He said, blinking.

"Did you get any sleep?"

"No." He responded plainly.

"Maybe you should get some rest instead of training…" Sakura suggested, her green eyes flickering with worry.

Sasuke stood up, aiming his kunai into a target. "I'm fine." He said as he continued to train.

Sakura sighed. She figured there was nothing more she could do now, so she continued to train.

After training, Sasuke retrieved his kunai, lazily shoving them into his kunai pouch.

"You look so grumpy, like an old grandpa." Naruto said and chuckled.

"Shut up you dobe." Sasuke said and hit Naruto in the head.

"You'll pay for that!" Naruto aimed a punch at the raven-haired ninja, but he easily dodged the punch by stepping to the right.

Naruto's eyes widened as he came into contact with the ground, face first. He spurt dirt out of his mouth and let out a stream of colorful curses.

Sasuke smirked and chuckled lowly; Naruto was so predictable when he was angry. And Sasuke fully enjoyed making Naruto angry.

"Damn you Sasuke-teme!" Naruto said as he got up, wiping dirt off his mouth.

Sasuke smirked in response. "You're such an idiot. I'm leaving."

As he turned to walk away, Sakura's hand fell upon his shoulder. "Sasuke-kun, get some rest…please." She said, almost pleadingly.

Sasuke stared at her, a blank expression on his face, but he nodded. He then began to walk away, Sakura's hand dropping from his shoulder as she watched him walk away.

_I wonder if I really stand a chance winning his heart…_She thought, when she looked up, Sasuke was gone.

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Sasuke continued walking home, yawing again. He hoped he could finally get some sleep…

Suddenly he bumped into someone. The first thing he saw was rich blue eyes and he immediately knew who it was. The kunoichi gave a small yelp, and he caught her arm before she fell. He pulled her towards him so she regained her balance, her long hair following her movements. He looked down and noticed that she was leaning against his chest. Ino was breathing heavily in surprise. He watched as she lifted her head up to look at him, her cheeks stained red.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." Ino said embarrassingly.

Then there was complete silence. He was staring down at her face, and she was staring at him, her eyebrow slightly raised in confusion and curiosity. His hand was still holding her arm, seemingly forgotten. They stayed like that for a few moments; before he saw her blue eyes flicker. Blue eyes…just like the sky, an endless wonder…

He finally realized what was happening and let go of her, stepping back.

He looked at Ino. She looked surprised with the sudden movement. Sasuke then turned on his heel and left a very confused Ino standing there.

_I can't believe I did that, what the hell got over me…?_ Sasuke thought as he began walking home. He could feel heat rise to his cheeks, and he knew that he was…blushing? He was glad that he didn't do it in front of her. She might've start getting ideas. And he didn't want that.

She didn't mean anything to him, she was just another girl.

...And then Sasuke silently wished that someone would just shoot him…

N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y.: Hoped you like this chapter. Sasuke/Inoness. Yay! Please review, and thanks for taking the time out to read my story! You guys rock.


	13. Chapter 12: Can't Fight it

N.O-S.A.N.C.T.A.U.R.Y: **Hey guys! Thank you for reading and reviewing, I appreciate it much! **

**Sasuke's going through a lot of emotions, so I hope to capture that well…And there will be a slight love triangle, but the pairing is definitely Sasuke/Ino! The end of this story is coming up very shortly! **

**Well enough rambling, time to get on with the next chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it!**

I'd like to once again thank my **great** beta-reader **–Kristine x3-**

**_Chapter 12: Can't Fight It…_**

Sasuke lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, a hand draped over his forehead. He held his hand up and stared at it. It had a few cuts on it from his previous training session. He was training long and hard the previous night. He was still bent on getting strength, enough to defeat Itachi. But, he was also training because he was angry. He was angry and confused. Silently, he though back on the previous night.

_Sasuke smirked in response. "You're such an idiot. I'm leaving." He said to Naruto. As he turned to walk away, Sakura's hand fell upon his shoulder. _

"_Sasuke-kun, get some rest…please." She said, almost pleadingly._

_Sasuke stared at her, a blank expression on his face, but he nodded. He then began to walk away, Sakura's hand dropping from his shoulder as she watched him walk away._

He didn't understand why she cared so much about him. Of course he knew that she had a crush on him, but he didn't take it that seriously. He figured she was just a fangirl like the other girls who have claimed to, "Love him." But it turned out; she wasn't like them at all.

…And then when he bumped into **her**...

_Suddenly he bumped into someone. The first thing he saw was rich blue eyes and he immediately knew who it was. The kunoichi gave a small yelp, and he caught her arm before she fell. He pulled her towards him so she regained her balance, her long hair following her movements. He looked down and noticed that she was leaning against his chest. Ino was breathing heavily in surprise. He watched as she lifted her head up to look at him, her cheeks stained red._

"_Thank you, Sasuke-kun." Ino said embarrassingly._

_Then there was complete silence. He was staring down at her face, and she was staring at him, her eyebrow slightly raised in confusion and curiosity. His hand was still holding her arm, seemingly forgotten. They stayed like that for a few moments; before he saw her blue eyes flicker. Blue eyes…just like the sky, an endless wonder…_

_He finally realized what was happening and let go of her, stepping back._

He felt his heart starting to race again. Truthfully, he didn't know what he would've done if he stayed there. That's what bothered him the most. He was ashamed of himself for staying like that, staring at her. Everything they had been through had flooded his mind. It seemed like there was no one but him and Ino…

He scowled and sat up, running a hand through his raven hair…

He wondered why it started happening now out of all times. He told himself he wouldn't get involved with petty drama with girls and such….But this feeling…

He shook his head and got up, preparing to meet Team 7 at their training grounds…  
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Sasuke started to walk to Team 7's training grounds nonchalantly. He could see some girls staring at him, going googly-eyed and giggling. He just rolled his eyes and ignored it like he usually did. He then saw Sakura, looking at the sky, a faraway look in her eyes. She then turned around and saw him, a big smile appearing on her face.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura walked up to him. "Are you feeling better?"

Sasuke pondered on how he should answer. Did he really feel better…? Well after he trained last night, he couldn't sleep…again. His hands were aching from his training, and his stomach was feeling empty, but he wasn't hungry. So did he actually feel better?

"Yeah," he lied, deciding not to worry her with his troubles.

Her face brightened. "That's great! I was really worried about you Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said, and put her hand on his shoulder. The same thing she did before…He looked away from her and walked over to a tree, leaning against it with his eyes closed.

Sakura watched him and sighed. _Well, at least he's feeling better…_She thought and smiled.

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke-teme!" Naruto ran up to the training grounds and smiled brightly.

"Don't call him that!" Sakura said, and hit Naruto on his head.

"Oww!" Naruto pouted and rubbed his head.

Just then Kakashi appeared.

"You're late Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura and Naruto yelled in unison.

Kakashi grinned from underneath his mask. "Well let's begin. We will be practicing chakra control today," He said. "We all know that Naruto is horrible when it comes to chakra control, so today we will practice just that." He said.

Naruto glared at Kakashi's comment.

Soon, they were near a river. "We will practice walking on water…an excellent practice for chakra control…"

"Wow that's so cool Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto said and grinned. "This is going to be awesome!"

Soon they began practicing, Naruto, falling multiple times into the river. Sasuke and Sakura on the other hand, had no trouble staying on the surface of the water.

When training was over, Naruto was soaked to the bone.

"Damn it, I'm cold! And hungry too!" Naruto whined, shivering. "Let's go to the ramen bar!" He said.

"I'm kind of hungry too, doesn't sound like a bad idea," Sakura said and turned to Sasuke. "Will you go with us Sasuke?"

"Fine." He said simply. He was starting to get hungry anyway and might as well go.

So they went to the ramen bar, and soon began eating.

"You have great chakra control Sasuke." Sakura said and smiled.

Sasuke looked at her. "I didn't think it was that great…if you say so." He said nonchalantly and shrugged.

"What about me Sakura-chan!" Naruto asked.

"…Uhm, you need work."

Naruto sweatdropped.

Sasuke shook his head and chuckled a bit. As he continued eating, he heard familiar voices.

"Did you notice that Ino seemed distracted again, if we were on a mission, we could've been in danger." He heard Shikamaru say.

"Yeah you're right," Chouji said, stuffing his face with chips once again.

"What is going on in that head of hers?" Shikamaru closed his eyes in frustration. "Girls are so troublesome…"

After they had walked past the ramen bar, suddenly Sasuke wasn't so hungry anymore. His heart was once again, beating extremely fast. He stood up.

"I'm full; I'm going to head home." He said and began walking away, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Sakura watched him walk away and stood up. "I'll be right back Naruto." She said and walked after Sasuke.  
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Sasuke continued to head home, walking through the park. Just from hearing her name, his heart had started racing. He suddenly had a huge headache. He growled angrily. _What is she doing to me…?_

"Sasuke-kun!"

He turned around and saw the pink-haired kunoichi, her hand fisted near her chest worriedly. "Sasuke-kun, are you alright? You've been acting strange lately…" Sakura said and stepped in front of him.

"I'm fine." He said and ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

"No you aren't…You haven't gotten any sleep, you look exhausted." She said and frowned. She then hugged him.

Sasuke was very confused now. But he didn't stop her from hugging him. Why? He didn't know. After a few moments, Sakura's face seemed to get closer to his. Her eyes were starting to close…Was she going to kiss him? It all went in slow motion. Her face was getting closer to his…

His eyes widened a bit, after realizing what was happening. He gently pushed her away from him. It didn't feel right at all.

"Sasuke…I…"

Soon she stopped her sentence and turned her head, and Sasuke followed her movement. Ino stood, a few feet away from them, staring at them with surprise. Her eyes flickered with tears, and they gathered at the corner of her eyes. She then clutched the flowers in her hand tightly, and bent her head down. She turned and ran the opposite way.

They both just stood there in the same spot for a while…

**_TbC..._**

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N.O.-S.A.N.C.T.U.A.R.Y: Wow what a love triangle…hehehe. Please read and review to know what happens next! No flames, thanks!

-Kristine X3-: Ah, yes, the love triangle. I wonder what'll happen next…


	14. Chapter 13: What a Fool I Was

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**_- -CHAPTER REVISED! - -

* * *

_**

**a/n: I realize that I made Ino a bit OOC so I revised this chapter...sorry for the trouble guys! I'm trying to get better at this stuff.**

**N.S.**: Hello everyone. Sorry it took so long for me to update. Being a freshman is so exhausting… I'm in all honors classes, so I put up my studies and I aced a bunch of tests with flying colors.

Sorry I left it in a cliffy…Love triangles are such a pain aren't they? But exciting at the same time!

By the way, I'm kind of changing my writing style as of now, from inspiration from my closest friend.

Now I'm trying to get somewhere with his fic…Sasuke may be a bit OOC from now on and I'm sorry for that, but that's how I planned it out to be. After all, this is **_Fanfiction,_** but please don't flame me!

I'm sorry if I upset any Sakura fans, but I'm a Sasuke/Ino fan. I wanted to write something different…ya know! Okay, enough rambling on with the next chapter I suppose…Please read and review, no flames please, thanks.

I'd like to once again thank my **great** beta-reader **–Kristine x3- **

Genre: Humor, romance, angst, tragedy

_Italics_ Flashbacks, or thoughts

_**Chapter 13: What a Fool I was…**_

It had been a few weeks after she had seen Sasuke with Sakura…Maybe it was fate that had brought them together…who really knows?

Ino placed flowers at her father's grave; he had passed away eventually. But, then again, that was life; everyone dies at one time... Ino had accepted it. She sighed and silently prayed, before getting up and heading home. She went inside her house and closed the front door behind her, locking it. She took off her shoes near the doormat and sighed. Ino stared at the living room; it was silent. No matter what, Ino wouldn't get use to it, it was too depressing. Silently, she sighed and sat on her couch. For the past few weeks, she hadn't been doing her best in training, and her teammates could see it. She thought she was a fool; to ever think Sasuke would fall for her. It was only wishful thinking on her part. She walked slowly in the kitchen and began to cook dinner…for herself…

Ino woke up the next morning and put on her usually ninja attire, except the color was off-white with a red pattern, and she put her long hair up in its usual high ponytail, the usual long strand of hair loose and hung in front of her face nicely. She looked in the mirror, her blue eyes were dull; her facial expression made her looked rather bored, or gloomy.

She sighed and left the house, locking the door behind her. She began to walk to her team's training grounds. She was walking rather slowly, deciding to take her time; the training would be useless anyway. As she walked, she glanced at Team 7. Sakura was yelling at Naruto for calling Sasuke a bastard, while Sasuke just stood there with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

She started to feel sad again, but then the sadness quickly turned to anger. Her pride had been hurt. And Yamanaka Ino didn't stand for that. So now, she is officially mad at Sasuke Uchiha.

She then saw Sasuke's eyes open, revealing pools of onyx. He then lifted up an arm and hit Naruto on the head, calling him a baka. She then saw Sasuke glance in her direction, and her blue eyes glanced in his, making eye contact. She sent him a glare that could have burned a hole through his face, and then she turned her head slowly and jumped up into the trees, deciding it would let her reach the training grounds quicker…

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Sasuke had his eyes closed, listening to Sakura and Naruto bicker. After what had happened a few weeks ago, everything turned back to normal…at least with him and Sakura…

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**Flashback-**

_They both just stood there in the same spot for a while…Until Sakura spoke up._

"_Is there…someone else…Sasuke-kun…?" Sakura had asked him, her green eyes looking puffy._

_  
Sasuke just stood there, a blank expression on his face. "…Yeah." _

_He could hear her sniffle. "Just one more question…is there still hope for me…?"_

_And a small smile fell on Sakura's lips._

**End of flashback…**

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Sasuke had told Sakura that he is starting to feel something for Ino. He trusted Sakura enough to tell her, after all Sakura was his teammate. But then he told Sakura that he felt something for her too in a way. Even though he hid it well, he cared about her and even Naruto as well. That was when she had smiled.

So here they were, Team 7.

"Don't call Sasuke-kun that Naruto!"

"But he is a bastard!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm only telling the truth Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke smirked in amusement, and opened his eyes. He then lifted up his arm and gave Naruto one good hit on the head. "Just shut up dobe." Sasuke said and narrowed his eyes. He turned back around and saw Ino; their eyes locked. Her calm facial expression changed to an angry one. And before he knew it, she sending a glare his way. The famous Ino glare. As soon as they did make eye contact, Ino was gone. He narrowed his eyes; he didn't like the way she was acting for the past few weeks. It made him angry. When he had walked past the flower shop, she was sitting on the steps. As soon she had seen him she glared at him and walked back into the flower shop. He felt like storming in there and telling her it wasn't what it had looked like. But, he was Uchiha Sasuke; he didn't have to explain himself to anyone.

That pride of hers was a pain in the ass.

And now he felt so angry, he could feel his blood boil. He didn't like the way she looked at him, her facial expression towards him. No girl looked at him the way she did.

"Sasuke, you look angry suddenly…something wrong?"

Sasuke turned around and saw his silver-haired sensei. "No." He said simply.

"Well, you sound angry…" Kakashi said a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I'm not angry!"

"There's no one here but you and me. I told Sakura and Naruto to get started on their training…so what is wrong? Is it about a girl?"

Sasuke snarled and shoved his hands in his pockets. "No…"

The mysterious jounin chuckled. "I figured it was. You have been distracted in training lately. And I have noticed you glancing at a certain kunoichi--"

"Liar," Sasuke interrupted.

"It's Ino isn't it?"

"Shut up."

Kakashi smirked from underneath his mask. "I didn't think you would fall for Yamanaka…in fact, I didn't think you would fall for anyone."

"**Shut up**."

"So that is what the problem is." Kakashi said. "Are you ashamed to admit it?"

"…**I said shut up damn it! I don't like Yamanaka!**" Sasuke growled and turned away, his eyes having a faraway look in them.

"Well, enough of that, let's get back to training."

"Chh," Sasuke said and walked off to join Naruto and Sakura.

Kakashi watched him walk off and smiled. _Maybe this little experience will be good for him…_Kakashi thought…

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After training, Sasuke began to walk home. Sakura and Naruto had bid him goodbye and Sasuke immediately left. He thought back on what Kakashi said and growled.

Where did he get off in saying that he was falling for _Yamanaka._

What gave him the idea that he was falling for her?

Where did he get off saying that he was distracted during training?

Sasuke couldn't disagree with his points more.

As Sasuke walked on the path to his house, he saw Ino sitting on a near-by bench. She was quietly eating, the same plain expression on her face. Her pale blonde hair draped over her shoulder and her lap.

Wasn't it good that she was avoiding him? Shouldn't it be great that she didn't want to see him anymore? Wasn't it good that she didn't talk to him or stare at him longingly with those blue eyes of hers…? Those big blue eyes of hers…

Sasuke shook his head, and snapped out of his thoughts.

Kakashi jinxed it.

Sasuke snorted and continued walking home, the blonde kunoichi never leaving his mind…

It was night, and Sasuke was in the park sitting on a bench. It was about 4 in

the morning. He had woken up extremely early that morning, and couldn't go back to sleep, so he had decided to sit in the park. He looked up at the dark sky and sighed, putting his hands in his sweater pockets, on account of it was very chilly. After a while, Sasuke decided to head home. Quietly, he stood up and began walking.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He turned around, thinking it was Ino. He was used to seeing Ino at the park after all of their encounters. Instead he saw a pink-haired kunoichi, Sakura.

"How are you feeling Sasuke-kun? You sure are up early." Sakura said and smiled softly.

"Couldn't sleep," Sasuke replied curtly and yawned, running a hand through his raven hair.

Sakura chuckled. "I see…well, I have to go get my mom some medicine, she's not feeling good. Well, see you later Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said and ran off.

Sasuke watched her run off and sighed; He could have sworn he heard Ino's voice when Sakura called his name…

Now he blamed Kakashi, for jinxing everything.

He once again began to walk home. His eyes were half-closed, and he had to repeatedly shake his head to stay focused. He then saw someone picking flowers, and he automatically knew who it was. She was wearing what looked like a white dress shirt and navy blue pants that reached a few inches above her knees. Her hair was pulled in a low ponytail, and she wore sandals. She was humming a small tune as she picked flowers carefully. She must have sensed his presence, because soon she was staring at him, a surprised expression at first, but then that same glare that she had sent him before.

_It's him..._Ino thought as she glared at him.

It was that look that told him that she was hurt by his actions; that look of anger and regret. As soon as she looked at him, she gathered the flowers in her arms and began to walk away, hearing a huff coming from her as she stormed away.

Sasuke growled and watched as she began walking away; she was avoiding him again. And it was making him angry; very angry. No one avoided him like that; no one…

He began following her, storming after her, not letting her get away. Soon he caught up to her and reached out for her arm. He jerked her backwards.

"What the-"

The flowers fell from her arms and scattered on the ground…

**N.O.: **I left it at another cliffy…I'm sorry! I just want to be sure that people are still reading! And…to leave you guys in suspense! So please read and review! See ya next update!

**Editor's Note**: Hmm…oh me oh my…poor Sakura, I feel so bad for her, and Ino…gosh, being a bit cowardly are we? Haha…Sasuke…oh Sasuke, that's what happens when girl's avoid you. Sigh…pathetic. (Glomps Sasuke "I won't ignore you!") **-Kristine X3-**


	15. Chapter 14: The Finale!

Thanks to my beta reader **–Kristine x3-**. Couldn't do this without her.

And as a reply to one of my reviewers, you're right. Sakura does have two people crushing on her, but she denies them and people feel bad when she's denied by Sasuke…That's annoying. Agh, I don't feel sorry for her but I didn't want to be too harsh on her…

Chapter contains some fighting. Beware. This should be an interesting chapter…Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone!! I totally appreciate you guys sticking with me and supporting the Sasuke/Ino pairing. You guys rock!!

Who knows, maybe I'll make a sequel...

Thanks for reading and adios amigos!!

**_Chapter 14: What a Wonderful Feeling…A unique way of getting together._**

_He once again began to walk home. His eyes were half-closed, and he had to repeatedly shake his head to stay focused. He then saw someone picking flowers, and he automatically knew who it was. She was wearing what looked like a white dress shirt and navy blue pants that reached a few inches above her knees. Her hair was pulled in a low ponytail, and she wore sandals. She was humming a small tune as she picked flowers carefully. She must have sensed his presence, because soon she was staring at him, a surprised expression at first, but then that same glare that she had sent him before._

_It's him...Ino thought as she glared at him._

_It was that look that told him that she was hurt by his actions; that look of anger and regret. As soon as she looked at him, she gathered the flowers in her arms and began to walk away, hearing a huff coming from her as she stormed away._

_Sasuke growled and watched as she began walking away; she was avoiding him again. And it was making him angry; very angry. No one avoided him like that; no one…_

_He began following her, storming after her, not letting her get away. Soon he caught up to her and reached out for her arm. He jerked her backwards._

_"What the-"_

_The flowers fell from her arms and scattered on the ground…_

Ino watched as the flowers fell on the ground, some flying in the air along with the wind. She glared and snatched her arm out of Sasuke's grip.

"Do you know how long it took for me to gather all those flowers Uchiha?!" She glared, her old personality starting to come back.

"I could care less." Sasuke replied coldly.

Ino looked down, casting a shadow over her face. "I am so stupid," Sasuke raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.

"To think for just one second that you were interested in me. I knew it couldn't be true…I bet Sakura is happy now…" Ino said, and looked up at the sky; she struggled to keep the tears back.

"She always wanted to better than me…she ended our friendship over you, you know that? That day when she declared us as rivals…she was right…she said she wouldn't lose, and she didn't lose either," Ino said, biting her bottom lip, a new habit she had gotten into. "She chose you over me and now she has you. I guess you have to make sacrifices in order to achieve your goals."

Sasuke just stared at her as she talked, letting everything she said sink in.

Ino chuckled bitterly. "I don't even know why I had the idea of you and me together in my head…it was just wishful thinking on my part...I actually thought I had a chance with you…Me, out of all of the girls…" She bent to pick up her flowers.

"I just want to ask you one question…everything that happened between us, did it mean anything to you? Or was it just something to pass time by…?"

Sasuke looked away and didn't say anything; his facial expression had remained the same. A few moments passed by, Ino sighed.

"Nothing. You won't ever change do you?" Ino said angrily as she continued picking up flowers. She was really getting fed up with this Uchiha. "You are so cold and stubborn. You act like you're so tough and strong. You act like you don't give a damn about anyone but yourself. You're such a coward Uchiha."

Sasuke looked back at her; he glared at her and clenched his fists. How dare she talk to him like that!! He was starting to like her better when she was depressed. He didn't like ANYONE calling him a coward. He was never scared…at least that he tried to convince himself. He started to remember when Itachi attacked his clan, how scared he was indeed. He was afraid to die, afraid of what his brother would do to him. Sasuke began to feel his blood boil with rage.

"Talking to you Uchiha, is like talking to a brick wall. Have a happy life with Sakura." Ino turned away from him and began walking.

Sasuke growled and grabbed her arm.

"I didn't say you can leave…" He snarled, his onyx eyes could tell anyone he was clearly pissed.

"Let go of me." Ino commanded.

"Make me."

Ino was already angry with him to begin with. Now she was full of anger. She was hurt, sad, and angry at the same time. She frowned, and quickly snatched out a kunai from her weapon pouch and thrust it towards his face.

Sasuke didn't expect her to attack him, but he was alert. As soon as he saw the kunai being thrust towards him, he let go of her arm and flipped out of the way of the kunai's path. Now she done it.

This argument has turned into a full-out war.

Ino felt good right about then. She charged towards him and aimed a punch at his face. Sasuke caught her fist in his hand and swung his leg in an attempt to kick her. Ino jumped and just barely dodged the kick. As she was in the air, she whipped out multiple shuriken from her pouch and chucked it in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke dodged the shuriken and blocked some with his kunai, but failed to see Ino but at the last moment. Her fist barely missed his face, and as he turned to Ino, he grabbed her arm and flipped her over. But, Ino wasn't done yet, as she flipped over, her foot was able to come in contact with Sasuke's chin.

Sasuke got up and wiped the blood from his mouth and growled. She watched as he charged towards her, his full intent of hurting her clear on his face. As he approached her, she side-stepped, avoiding him and aimed a punch at him. As she punched him, she noticed he disappeared in a cloud of smoke to reveal a block of wood.

'_Substitution jutsu…'_ Ino thought as her blue eyes scanned the area. _'Where could he be…?'_

Suddenly, Sasuke was charging towards her, but she was too late. He kicked her hard in her stomach, sending her falling backwards. That was when she realized she truly made him angry. Ino breathed heavily and took out a kunai, aiming it at Sasuke; Ino wasn't about to give up because the odds were against her.

He easily caught the kunai and threw it back at her. It whizzed past her, just barely missing the side of her face and cutting the bow that held her hair, pale blonde hair falling around her form. Suddenly, she felt a kick at her back, making her stumble forward. She turned around and aimed a kick at him, successfully kicking him in the face. Sasuke broke his fall; now he was really angry. He leaped from his position and swiftly charged at Ino. He smirked and then kneed her in the stomach. Her blue eyes widened as her back hit a tree, and she coughed up blood.

As she sunk, Sasuke stood in front of her and held a kunai close to her face, his breathing ragged. He sounded angry.

Ino glared and wiped the trail of blood from her lips. "What are you waiting for?? Finish me off. You don't care about what happens to anyone…so just end it."

Sasuke continued to stand there holding the kunai dangerously close to her.

"Do it!" Ino yelled, her voice quivering. "Finish me off! That's what a real ninja would do, right?! Isn't that what you want?!" She cried out, tears finally freed and cascading down her face. "I have nothing to live for anymore. So finish it!!"

Sasuke watched as tears fell down her delicate face and his eyes had begun to soften. Her blue eyes stared at him, and he suddenly wasn't angry anymore. He actually hurt her; his anger had gotten the best of him.

"Do it!" Ino exclaimed, biting her lip and trying to hold her sobs. Sasuke stared at her crying form and his arm began to tremble, he found himself losing his clutch on the kunai. He looked down; he felt himself wanting to embrace her, to wipe her tears away, to apologize for hurting her. A strong wind blew, Ino's long hair blowing in the wind, her stifled sobs racking her body. Sasuke's raven hair blew gently, his bangs brushing his face lightly. Ino's tearful blue eyes glanced at the boy in front of her, her cheeks flushed and her eyes puffy. It was still dark out, casting a shadow on his face. He lifted his head and gazed at her, his onyx eyes flickering with something Ino couldn't recognize. He loosened his grip on the kunai and dropped it to the floor, a "clunk" as it collided with the ground.

"Ino…" His voice was unusually calm.

She didn't realize what was going on, until he grabbed both sides of her face, his fingers wiping her tears away, and then he crushed his lips against hers.

Her blue eyes widened as their lips connected. She was in complete shock, and it took her a few moments to kiss back. She couldn't believe that UCHIHA SASUKE was actually kissing HER. His lips were so soft against hers, softer than she had imagined them to be. She felt him wrap his arms around her.

Sasuke didn't know what had gotten over him. But soon he felt himself kiss her. Her eyes had widened, but fluttered closed. He tasted something metallic, probably because of the blood on her lip, but he didn't care. It just felt right.

After a few moments, Sasuke drew back, lightly placing a kiss on her bottom lip.

"I…am interested in you." He said simply, sounding a bit embarrassed.

Ino's blue eyes stared at him in shock, panting.

"But…I thought…Sakura-"

"I was never with her." Sasuke interrupted.

Ino choked back another violent sob. She couldn't believe this was happening. She felt Sasuke embrace her and whisper,

"To answer your question…you do mean something to me…"

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It had been a few months after Ino and Sasuke had gotten together. Everyone was surprised, but they accepted it…Even though they didn't have a choice. Sasuke was still Sasuke, he still worked on his goal to avenge his clan and Ino didn't stop him, she accepted it. He still didn't talk much, but his actions spoke louder than words. Who knows how long it will last or even if it would, as of now, she was happy and content with how they were now and didn't think of the future.

Sasuke was away on a mission and wouldn't be back for a few days. Ino got out of the shower, her long pale blonde hair draped over her shoulders. She took long strides to her dresser. As she began combing her hair, she glanced down and saw a flower lying on a piece of paper. She picked up the piece of paper and read it.

"Ino – Sasuke"

She smiled and placed the flower in her hair, tucked behind her ear and began humming. After everything that happened, she felt content. She still felt sad, especially after losing her father, but she knew everything would be alright. She would make a special dinner for them when he gets back…

_**Fin**_

**-Kristine X3-:** Wow…interesting ending. Love it. –Heart-


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